Jeremiah delivers the LORD's prophecy to King Zedekiah, foretelling Jerusalem's capture and burning by Nebuchadnezzar, and Zedekiah's own captivity in Babylon, though he would die in peace. The chapter then details a broken covenant: Zedekiah and the people initially freed their Hebrew servants according to the law, but later re-enslaved them. For this transgression, the LORD declares a severe judgment of sword, pestilence, famine, and exile upon Judah. The Babylonian army, which had temporarily withdrawn, is promised to return to utterly destroy Jerusalem.
¶ 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,
Thus 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:
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.
But 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.
When 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.
¶ This 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;
That 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.
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.
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.
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,
At 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.
And 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:
But ye turned and polluted 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 brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
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: 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.
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,
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;
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.
And 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.
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.
Study Notes for Jeremiah 34
Verse 1
This prophecy occurs during the final, intense phase of the siege of Jerusalem (588-586 BC), when Nebuchadnezzar's forces were actively engaging the remaining strongholds of Judah.
Verse 3
This verse predicts Zedekiah’s capture and face-to-face confrontation with Nebuchadnezzar. While Zedekiah was later blinded (2 Ki 25:7), the prophecy focuses on his failure to escape and his forced deportation.
Verse 5
The promise to 'die in peace' likely means dying naturally in exile, rather than being executed or tortured by the Babylonians. The 'burnings' (burning spices/odors) refers to the customary royal funeral rites, ensuring he received proper honor.
Verse 7
Lachish and Azekah were major fortified cities southwest of Jerusalem. This highlights the severity of the siege, confirming that these were the last Judean fortresses to fall before Jerusalem itself.
Verse 8
This section begins a new narrative, detailing an attempt by Zedekiah and the people to gain divine favor by observing the Mosaic Law regarding indentured servants.
Verse 9
The law required that Hebrew servants (indentured laborers, not chattel slaves) be released after six years of service (Exod 21:2; Deut 15:12). This covenant sought to rectify years of neglecting this law.
Verse 11
The people revoked the covenant, likely when the Babylonian army temporarily lifted the siege (Jer 37:5). This demonstrated a profound lack of commitment to God's law once the immediate threat subsided.
Verse 14
God references the covenant made at Sinai, establishing that the requirement to free indentured servants was a fundamental element of Israel’s identity as a people freed from slavery in Egypt.
Verse 16
By swearing a covenant in the Temple (the house called by God’s name) and immediately breaking it, they demonstrated contempt for God’s holiness and integrity, thus 'polluting' His name.
Verse 17
God uses powerful irony: since the people refused to proclaim liberty to their brothers, God proclaims a different kind of liberty—freedom for the sword, pestilence, and famine to ravage them.
Verse 18
This describes the ancient ritual for ratifying a covenant (cf. Gen 15:9–10). Cutting an animal in two and walking between the parts symbolized that covenant breakers would suffer the same fate as the animal.
Verse 19
The mention of 'princes,' 'eunuchs,' and 'priests' confirms that the highest ranks of society, who should have been models of obedience, participated in the covenant-breaking ritual.
Verse 22
This confirms that the temporary lifting of the siege (which led the people to re-enslave their servants) was only a pause. God guarantees the Babylonian army will return to execute final, devastating judgment.
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