(KJV) Jeremiah 34¹

⥃A Prophecy against Zedekiah

[1] The word² which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when³ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms⁴ of the earth of his dominion⁵, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,⁶ [2] Thus saith the Lord, the Go⁷d of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold⁸, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire: [3] And thou⁹ shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine¹⁰ eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth¹¹, and thou shalt go to Babylon. [4] Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: [5] [But] thou¹² shalt die in peace: and with¹³ the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so¹⁴ shall they burn [odours] for thee; and they¹⁵ will lament thee, [saying], Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord. [6] Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,¹⁶ [7] When the king of Babylon’s army fought against¹⁷ Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish¹⁸, and against Azekah: for¹⁹ these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

⥃Freedom for Hebrew Slaves

[8] [This is] the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had²⁰ made a covenant with all the people which [were] at Jerusalem, to proclaim²¹ liberty unto them; [9] That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, [being] an Hebrew²² or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve²³ himself of them, [to wit], of a Jew his brother. [10] Now when²⁴ all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then²⁵ they obeyed, and let [them] go. [11] But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.²⁶

[12] [¶]Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, [13] Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; I made²⁷ a covenant with your fathers in the²⁸ day that I brought them forth out of²⁹ the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, [14] At the³⁰ end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold³¹ unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but³² your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. [15] And ye³³ were now³⁴ turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming³⁵ liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had³⁶ made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name³⁷: [16] But ye turned³⁸ and polluted³⁹ my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought⁴⁰ them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. [17] Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold⁴¹, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword⁴², to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will⁴³ make you to be removed⁴⁴ into all the kingdoms of the earth. [18] And I will give the men that have transgressed⁴⁵ my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when⁴⁶ they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, [19] The princes⁴⁷ of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs⁴⁸, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; [20] I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into⁴⁹ the hand of them that seek their life: and their⁵⁰ dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. [21] And Zedekiah⁵¹ king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which are⁵² gone up from you. [22] Behold, I will command⁵³, saith the Lord, and cause⁵⁴ them to return to this city; and they shall fight⁵⁵ against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will⁵⁶ make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.