34King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with all the armies from the kingdoms he ruled, and he fought against Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. At that time this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:H1697H3414H3068H5019H4428H894H2428H4467H776H3027H4475H5971H3898H3389H5892H5592“Go to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.H559H3068H430H3478H1980H559H6667H4428H3063H559H559H3068H5414H5892H3027H4428H894H8313H7843You will not escape his grasp but will be captured and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. Then you will be exiled to Babylon.H4422H3027H8610H8610H5414H3027H5869H7200H5869H4428H894H1696H6310H6310H935H8944“‘But listen to this promise from the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says: You will not be killed in warH8085H1697H3068H6667H4428H3063H559H3068H4191H27195but will die peacefully. People will burn incense in your memory, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who preceded you. They will mourn for you, crying, “Alas, our master is dead!” This I have decreed, says the Lord.’”H4191H7965H4955H1H7223H4428H6440H8313H5594H1945H113H1696H1697H5002H30686So Jeremiah the prophet delivered the message to King Zedekiah of Judah.H3414H5030H1696H1697H6667H4428H3063H33897At this time the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah—the only fortified cities of Judah not yet captured.H4428H894H2428H3898H3389H5892H3063H3498H3923H5825H4013H5892H7604H5892H3063
Freedom for Hebrew Slaves
8This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people, proclaiming freedom for the slaves.H1697H3414H3068H310H4428H6667H3772H1285H5971H3389H7121H18659He had ordered all the people to free their Hebrew slaves—both men and women. No one was to keep a fellow Judean in bondage.H376H5650H376H8198H5680H5680H7971H2670H5647H3064H25110The officials and all the people had obeyed the king’s command,H8269H5971H935H1285H8085H376H5650H376H8198H7971H2670H5647H8085H797111but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again.H310H7725H5650H8198H7971H2670H7725H3533H3533H5650H819812So the Lord gave them this message through Jeremiah:H1697H3068H3414H3068H55913“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors long ago when I rescued them from their slavery in Egypt.H559H3068H430H3478H3772H1285H1H3117H3318H776H4714H1004H5650H55914I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me.H7093H7651H8141H7971H376H251H5680H4376H5647H8337H8141H7971H2670H1H8085H5186H24115Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name.H3117H7725H6213H3477H5869H7121H1865H376H7453H3772H1285H6440H1004H7121H803416But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.H7725H2490H8034H376H5650H376H8198H7971H2670H5315H7725H3533H5650H819817“Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth.H559H3068H8085H7121H1865H376H251H376H7453H7121H1865H5002H3068H2719H1698H7458H5414H2189H2113H4467H77618Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows.H5414H582H5674H1285H6965H1697H1285H3772H6440H3772H5695H8147H5674H133519Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath.H8269H3063H8269H3389H5631H3548H5971H776H5674H1335H569520I will give you to your enemies, and they will kill you. Your bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.H5414H3027H341H3027H1245H5315H5038H3978H5775H8064H929H77621“I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to the army of the king of Babylon. And although Babylon’s king has left Jerusalem for a while,H6667H4428H3063H8269H5414H3027H341H3027H1245H5315H3027H4428H894H2428H592722I will call the Babylonian armies back again. They will fight against this city and will capture it and burn it down. I will see to it that all the towns of Judah are destroyed, with no one living there.”H6680H5002H3068H7725H5892H3898H3920H8313H784H5414H5892H3063H8077H3427
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