Yirmeyah 34

1. The Davar which came unto Yirmeyah from Hashem, when Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel, and all his army, and all the mamlechot eretz (kingdoms of the earth) of his dominion, and all the peoples fought against Yerushalayim, and against all the towns thereof, saying,

2. Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel; Go and speak to Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah, and tell him, Thus saith Hashem: Hineni, I will give this city into the yad Melech Bavel, and he shall burn it with eish,

3. And thou shalt not escape out of his yad, but shalt surely be captured, and delivered into his yad; and thine eynayim shall behold the eynayim of Melech Bavel, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Bavel.

4. Yet hear the Devar Hashem, O Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah; Thus saith Hashem of thee, Thou shalt not die by the cherev;

5. But thou shalt die in shalom; and with the [royal funeral spice] burnings of thy avot, the former melachim which were before thee, so shall they burn for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Hoy Adon! For I have pronounced the davar, saith Hashem.

6. Then Yirmeyah HaNavi spoke all these devarim unto Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah in Yerushalayim,

7. When the army of Melech Bavel fought against Yerushalayim, and against all the towns of Yehudah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah; for these fortified cities remained of the cities of Yehudah.

8. This is the Davar that came unto Yirmeyah from Hashem, after that Tzidkiyah HaMelech had cut a Brit with kol HaAm which were at Yerushalayim, to proclaim deror (liberty) unto them;

9. That every ish should set free his eved, and every ish his shifchah, being Ivri (Hebrew man) or Ivriyah (Hebrew woman); that none should hold another brother Yehudi in bondage.

10. Now when all the sarim, and kol HaAm, which had entered into the brit (covenant), heard that every one should set free his eved, and every one his shifchah, that none should keep them in bondage, then they obeyed, and let them go.

11. But afterward they changed their minds, and caused avadim and the shfakhot, whom they had set free, to return, and brought them into subjection for avadim and for shfakhot.

12. Therefore the Devar Hashem came to Yirmeyah from Hashem, saying,

13. Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel; I cut a Brit with avoteichem in the day that I brought them forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim, out of the bais avadim, saying,

14. At the end of sheva shanim let ye go free every ish his brother HaIvri, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee shesh shanim, thou shalt let him go chofshi (free) from thee; but avoteichem paid heed not unto Me, neither inclined their ozen.

15. And recently ye turned, and did hayashar (the right) in My sight, in proclaiming deror (liberty) every ish to his neighbor; and ye cut a Brit (covenant) before Me in the Beis which is called by Shmi;

16. But ye turned around and profaned Shmi, and caused every ish his eved, and every ish his shifchah, whom he had set at liberty at their desire, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for avadim and for shfakhot.

17. Therefore thus saith Hashem; Ye have not paid heed unto Me, in proclaiming deror (freedom), everyone to his brother, and every ish to his neighbor; hineni, I proclaim deror (“freedom”) for you, saith Hashem, to the cherev, to the dever, and to the ra’av; and I will make you to be a horror to all the mamlechot ha’aretz.

18. And I will give the anashim that have transgressed My Brit, which have not performed the Devarim of the Brit (covenant) which they had cut before Me, when they cut the egel (calf) in two, and passed between the parts thereof,

19. The sarim of Yehudah, and the sarim of Yerushalayim, the sarisim, and the kohanim, and kol Am HaAretz, which passed between the parts of the egel (calf);

20. I will even give them into the yad of their oyevim, and into the yad of them that seek their nefesh: and their nevilah (dead body) shall be for food unto the oph HaShomayim, and to the behemat ha’aretz.

21. And Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah and his sarim will I give into the yad of their oyevim, and into the yad of them that seek their nefesh, and into the yad of Melech Bavel’s army, which hast withdrawn from you.

22. Hineni, I will command, saith Hashem, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and capture it, and burn it with eish; and I will make the towns of Yehudah a desolation without an inhabitant.