Jeremiah 34
1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with the armies of all the kingdoms that he ruled, and they fought against Jerusalem and the other towns [in Judah]. At that time, Yahweh gave me this message:
The word which it came to Jeremiah from with Yahweh and Nebuchadnezzar [the] king of Babylon - and all army his and all [the] kingdoms of [the] earth [the] rule of hand his and all the peoples [were] fighting on Jerusalem and on all cities its saying.
2 “Go to Zedekiah the King of Judah, and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says: “I am about to enable the army of the King of Babylon to capture this city, and they will burn it down.
Thus he says Yahweh [the] God of Israel go and you will say to Zedekiah [the] king of Judah and you will say to him thus he says Yahweh here I [am] about to give the city this in [the] hand of [the] king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire.
3 You will not escape from them; they will capture you and take you to the king of Babylon. And [then] they will take you to Babylon.”’
And you not you will escape from hand his for certainly you will be captured and in hand his you will be given and eyes your [the] eyes of [the] king of Babylon they will see and mouth his with mouth your it will speak and Babylon you will go.
4 But King Zedekiah, listen to this that Yahweh has promised: ‘You will not be killed in a battle [MTY];
Nevertheless hear [the] word of Yahweh O Zedekiah [the] king of Judah thus he says Yahweh on you not you will die by the sword.
5 you will die peacefully. [When you die], people will burn incense to honor/remember you just as they did for your ancestors who were kings before you became king. They will mourn for you, crying, “We are very sad that our king is dead!” I, Yahweh, promise that will happen.’”
In peace you will die and like [the] burnings of fathers your the kings former who they were before you so people will burn for you and alas! O lord they will mourn for you for a promise I I have spoken [the] utterance of Yahweh.
6 [So] I took that message to King Zedekiah.
And he spoke Jeremiah the prophet to Zedekiah [the] king of Judah all the words these in Jerusalem.
7 At that time the army of Babylonia had surrounded Jerusalem and Lachish and Azekah. Those [three] cities were the only cities in Judah that had high walls around them that still had not been captured.
And [the] army of [the] king of Babylon [were] fighting on Jerusalem and on all [the] cities of Judah which were left against Lachish and against Azekah for they they remained among [the] cities of Judah cities of fortification.
8 King Zedekiah had decreed that the people must free their slaves.
The word which it came to Jeremiah from with Yahweh after made the king Zedekiah a covenant with all the people which [was] in Jerusalem to proclaim to them liberty.
9 [He decreed that] the people must free their Hebrew slaves, [both the] men slaves and the women [slaves]. No one would be allowed to force a fellow Jew to [continue to] be his slave.
To let go everyone [male] slave his and everyone female slave his Hebrew [masc] and Hebrew [fem] free [people] to not to work by them by a Jew brother his anyone.
10 The officials and the rest of the people had obeyed [what the king decreed],
And they obeyed all the officials and all the people who they went in the covenant to let go everyone [male] slave his and everyone female slave his free [people] to not to work by them again and they obeyed and they let [them] go.
11 but later they changed their minds. They forced the men and women whom they had freed to become their slaves again.
And they turned back after thus and they took back the [male] slaves and the female slaves whom they had let go free [people] (and they subjugated them *Qk) for [male] slaves and for female slaves.
12 [So] Yahweh gave me this message [to tell to them]:
And it came [the] word of Yahweh to Jeremiah from with Yahweh saying.
13 “I, Yahweh, the God whom you Israelis [say you belong to], (made an agreement with/gave this command to) your ancestors [long ago], when I rescued them from being slaves in Egypt.
Thus he says Yahweh [the] God of Israel I I made a covenant with ancestors your on [the] day brought out I them from [the] land of Egypt from a house of slaves saying.
14 I told them that they must free all their Hebrew slaves after the slaves had worked for them for six years. But your ancestors did not pay any attention to what I said.
From [the] end of seven years you will let go everyone brother his Hebrew who he will sell himself to you and he will serve you six years and you will let go him a free [person] from with you and not they listened ancestors your to me and not they inclined ear their.
15 Recently, you obeyed my command and stopped doing what was wrong and did what was right. You made a solemn agreement at my temple [that you would free your slaves], and [then] you freed them.
And you turned back you this day and you did the right in eyes my by proclaiming liberty everyone to neighbor his and you made a covenant before me in the house which it is called name my on it.
16 But now you have disregarded what you solemnly promised, and you have shown contempt for what I [MTY] said by taking back the women and men whom you had freed and said they could live wherever they wanted to. [Now] you have forced them to be your slaves again.
And you turned back and you profaned name my and you took back everyone [male] slave his and everyone female slave his whom you had let go free [people] to desire their and you subjugated them to become of you [male] slaves and female slaves.
17 Therefore, this is what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘Because you have not obeyed me by freeing your fellow Israelis, I will free you to [be destroyed by] the swords [of your enemies] and by famines and diseases. All the nations of the earth will be horrified because of [what happens to] you.
Therefore thus he says Yahweh you not you have listened to me by proclaiming liberty everyone to brother his and everyone to neighbor his here I [am] about to proclaim to you liberty [the] utterance of Yahweh to the sword to pestilence and to famine and I will make you (into a terror *QK) to all [the] kingdoms of the earth.
18 Because you have disregarded what I said in my agreement with you, I will do to you just like you did to the calves that you cut in half to show that you would surely do what you solemnly promised that you would do. I will [enable your enemies to] cut you into pieces, you officials of Judah and you officials of Jerusalem, and you officials in the palace, and you priests and all you common people. I will do that because you have disregarded what you solemnly promised [about freeing your slaves].
And I will make the people who have transgressed covenant my who not they have carried out [the] words of the covenant which they made before me the calf which they cut into two [pieces] and they passed between pieces its.
[the] officials of Judah and [the] officials of Jerusalem the court-officials and the priests and all [the] people of the land who passed between [the] pieces of the calf.
20 I will enable your enemies to capture you, and they will kill you. And your bodies will be food for vultures and wild animals.
And I will give them in [the] hand of enemies their and in [the] hand of [those who] seek life their and it will become corpse their food for [the] bird[s] of the heavens and for [the] animal[s] of the earth.
21 I will enable the army of the king of Babylon to capture King Zedekiah and his officials. Although the king of Babylon and his army have left Jerusalem [for a short time],
And Zedekiah [the] king of Judah and officials his I will give in [the] hand of enemies their and in [the] hand of [those who] seek life their and in [the] hand of [the] army of [the] king of Babylon which have gone up from on you.
22 I will summon them back again. [This time], they will fight against this city and capture it and burn it down. I will make [sure] that all the towns in Judah are destroyed, [with the result that] no one will live there [any more].’”
Here I [am] about to give command [the] utterance of Yahweh and I will bring back them to the city this and they will fight on it and they will capture it and they will burn it with fire and [the] cities of Judah I will make a waste from not inhabitant.
