Jeremiah 34
34
Jeremiah Warns King Zedekiah
1Yahweh spoke to me when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was at war against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. # 34:1 The events of this chapter took place in the early months of Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem prior to its destruction in 586 BC. Chapters 34–38 generally contain Jeremiah’s experiences during the siege of Jerusalem. Like most of the book of Jeremiah, the events are not given in a strict chronological order. He had all his army with him, including soldiers from all the kingdoms of his empire. 2Yahweh, God of Israel, then told me to go to Zedekiah king of Judah and give him this message:
“Yahweh says to you, ‘I am going to hand over this city to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. 3You will not escape from his clutches but will certainly be captured and given over to him. You will see the king of Babylon face-to-face and speak to him in person. Then you will go into exile to Babylon. 4So listen now to the promise of Yahweh, Zedekiah king of Judah. I, Yahweh, say that you will not be executed. 5You will die in peace, and incense will be burned for you at your funeral as they burned it for the kings before you. They will mourn for you, saying: “How terrible! Our highness is dead!” I, Yahweh, have spoken.’ ”
6So I # 34:6 Or “Then Jeremiah the prophet.” repeated all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem. 7Meanwhile, the army of Babylon was trying to break through the walls of Lachish # 34:7 Lachish was twenty-three miles (thirty-seven kilometers) southwest of Jerusalem. The now famous Lachish letters, written on pieces of broken pottery, belong to this time period just before the fall of Lachish and Jerusalem in 586 BC. and Azekah, # 34:7 Azekah was about twelve miles (nineteen kilometers) north of Lachish and is mentioned in one of the Lachish letters. The Lachish letters, written in Hebrew, are fragments of nearly twenty letters written during the siege of Jerusalem. They were written just before the final attack of Nebuchadnezzar against the city. The officer in charge of a military outpost between Lachish and Azekah wrote to the officer in charge at Lachish, informing him that he could no longer see Azekah. The Lachish letters are like a voice from the dead confirming the accuracy of Jeremiah’s account. Second Kings 25:1–9 provides the background for this chapter. the only remaining fortified towns of Judah.
The People Break a Promise
8Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah had made an agreement with the people of Jerusalem to set free all the Jewish slaves. # 34:8 See Deut. 15:12. 9Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, men and women, and no longer enslave a fellow Jew. 10All the leaders and all the people made an agreement that everyone should free their slaves, men or women, and no longer keep them enslaved, so they set every slave free. 11But afterward, they went back on their word and forced the men and women whom they had set free back into slavery.
12Then Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah, saying, 13“I, Yahweh, God of Israel, made a covenant with your ancestors when I led them out of the house of bondage in Egypt. I said 14that every seventh year, each one of you is to free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. They may be your slave for six years, then you must give them their freedom. Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me and would not obey. 15You recently decided to obey me and did what pleases me by setting your Hebrew slaves completely free. You even went to the temple dedicated to me, and in my name, you made a covenant to set them free. 16But now you have broken your promise and dishonored my name by forcing your former slaves back into slavery. From those whom you once set free to live as they please, you have taken their freedom away again to please yourselves.
17“So, I, Yahweh, say you have disobeyed me by failing to grant freedom to your fellow Jews. Very well then. I, Yahweh, declare that I will give you freedom—the freedom to die by the sword, disease, and starvation. And I will make you a disgusting # 34:17 Or “make you a trembling [horror].” sight to every nation in the world. 18-19The officials of Judah and of Jerusalem, together with the palace officials, # 34:18–19 Or “eunuchs.” the priests, and all the leaders, made a covenant with me. And to seal their agreement to set their slaves free, they walked between the two halves of a calf that they had cut in two. But they broke the covenant and did not fulfill its terms. So, I will do to these people what they did to the calf. 20I will hand them over to their enemies, to those determined to kill them. And their dead bodies will be food for the birds and beasts. 21-22These enemies are the king of Babylon and his army. They have stopped attacking Jerusalem for now, # 34:21–22 Nebuchadnezzar broke off his siege of Jerusalem after hearing that an Egyptian army was advancing against him (see 37:5). It was at that time, when it looked as though Nebuchadnezzar had withdrawn his siege, that the people broke their agreement and forced their slaves to return. Since they forced their slaves to return, Yahweh would force Nebuchadnezzar to return and devastate the land. but they still want to kill King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials. So, I will command them to return and attack again. This time they will conquer the city and burn it to the ground. I will hand over King Zedekiah and all his officials. I will also turn the towns of Judah into an inhabitable wasteland.”
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Jeremiah 34: TPT
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