Jeremiah 34
Jeremiah's Warning to
Zedekiah |
1 |
The word which came unto Jeremiah from
the LORD, when Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon,
and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion,
and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, 2 Kgs. 25.1-11 · 2 Chr.
36.17-21 and against all the cities thereof,
saying,
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2 |
Thus saith the LORD,
the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedeki'ah king of Judah, and tell
him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give
this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it
with fire:
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and thou shalt not escape out of his
hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and
thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he
shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to
Babylon.
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Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedeki'ah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the
sword;
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but thou shalt die in peace: and
with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before
thee, so shall they burn odors for thee; and they will lament
thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith
the LORD.
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6 |
Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all
these words unto Zedeki'ah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
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7 |
when the king of Babylon's army fought
against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were
left, against Lachish, and against Aze'kah: for these defensed
cities remained of the cities of Judah.
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The Broken Covenant
concerning Hebrew Servants |
8 |
This is the word that came unto
Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king
Zedeki'ah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;
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that every man should let his manservant,
and every man his maidservant, being a Hebrew or a Hebrewess,
go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a
Jew his brother.
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10 |
Now when 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; then they
obeyed, and let them go.
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11 |
But afterwards 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.
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12 |
Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
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13 |
Thus saith the LORD,
the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day
that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house
of bondmen, saying,
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14 |
At the end of seven years let ye go every
man his brother a Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when
he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: Ex.
21.2 · Deut.
15.12 but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither
inclined their ear.
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15 |
And ye were now turned, and had done
right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor;
and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by
my name:
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16 |
but ye turned and polluted my name, and
caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he
had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them
into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for
handmaids.
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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 neighbor:
behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the
famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of
the earth.
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And I will give the men that have
transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the
covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in
twain, and passed between the parts thereof,
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19 |
the princes of Judah, and the princes of
Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the
land, which passed between the parts of the calf;
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20 |
I will even give them into the hand of
their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and
their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven,
and to the beasts of the earth.
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21 |
And Zedeki'ah 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 are gone up from you.
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Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they
shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I
will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an
inhabitant.
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