Jeremiah 34

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,

1This is the message the LORD gave to Jeremiah, a prophet who told people what God said. At that time Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was fighting Jerusalem. His army attacked the city and all the towns around it. The kingdoms and people he ruled fought there too.

2Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah 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:

2The LORD, the God of Israel, said this. Go and speak to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. Tell him what the LORD says. I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon. He will burn it down.

3And 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.

3You will not get away from him. You will surely be caught and handed to him. You will look him in the eye. He will talk to you face to face. Then you will go to Babylon.

4Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:

4But listen to what the LORD says, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the LORD says about you. You will not be killed by the sword.

5But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.

5You will die in peace. People burned sweet spices for the kings who lived before you. They will burn spices for you in the same way. They will cry for you and say, "Oh, our master!" I myself have said this, says the LORD.

NoteThe KJV word "odours" means sweet-smelling spices. Burning them was part of honoring a king who had died.

6Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,

6So Jeremiah the prophet said all these words to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem.

7When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

7At that time the king of Babylon's army was fighting Jerusalem. It was also fighting the towns of Judah that were left. It attacked the towns of Lachish and Azekah. Those were the only towns with strong walls still standing in Judah.

8This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

8King Zedekiah made an agreement with all the people in Jerusalem. They promised to set their slaves free. After that, the LORD gave Jeremiah this message.

9That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

9Every man was to free his Hebrew slaves, both the men and the women. No one was to keep a fellow Jew as a slave.

10Now 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.

10All the leaders and all the people joined this agreement. They heard that everyone must free their slaves and keep them no longer. So they obeyed and let them go.

11But 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.

11But later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had set free. They made them slaves again.

12Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

12Then the LORD gave Jeremiah this message.

13Thus 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,

13This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says. I made an agreement with your fathers long ago. That was when I brought them out of Egypt. There they had been slaves.

14At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

14I told them this. Every seventh year, free any Hebrew who sold himself to you. He may work for you six years. Then you must let him go free. But your fathers would not listen to me at all.

15And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

15A short while ago you changed and did what is right. Each of you set your neighbors free. You made this promise in front of me. You made it in the temple, the house that carries my name.

16But 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.

16But then you changed again and made my name dirty. Each of you took back the servants you had freed. You had let them go wherever they wanted. Now you have forced them to be your slaves again.

17Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: 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.

17So this is what the LORD says. You did not obey me. You did not set your brothers and neighbors free. So now I will set something free for you, says the LORD. I will set loose war, sickness, and hunger. Every kingdom on earth will be shocked when they see you.

NoteThe KJV uses the word "liberty" twice on purpose. The people would not set their slaves free, so God says he will set war, sickness, and hunger free instead.

18And 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,

18Some people broke my agreement. They did not keep the promise they made in front of me. They had cut a young cow in two and walked between the pieces. I will make them like that cow.

NoteLong ago, people made a serious promise this way. They cut an animal in two and walked between the two halves.

19The 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;

19This means the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. It also means the king's officials, the priests, and all the people of the land. They all walked between the pieces of the cow.

20I 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.

20I will hand them over to their enemies, who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds and the wild animals.

21And Zedekiah 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.

21I will also hand over Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his leaders. Their enemies want to kill them. I will hand them to the army of the king of Babylon. That army has marched away from you for now.

22Behold, 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.

22Listen, says the LORD. I will give the order and bring that army back to this city. They will fight it, take it, and burn it down. I will leave the towns of Judah empty, with no one living in them.