Jeremiah 34

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1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth, subject to his hand, and all the nations fought against Jerusalem and against all his cities:
2 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Go and tell Zedekiah king of Judah, and say to him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire;
3 And thou shalt not escape from his hand, but surely thou shalt be taken and delivered into his hands, and thine eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak unto thine own lips, and thou shalt go to Babylon.
4 But listen to the word of the Lord, Zedekiah, king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: you shall not die by the sword;
5 You will die in peace, and as for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, burned [at the burial of incense], so they will burn you, and for you they will mourn you: "Alas, sir!", For I spoke this word, says the Lord .
6th Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah, king of Judah, in Jerusalem.
7th Meanwhile the army of the king of Babylon fought against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that still remained, against Lachish and Azeka; For out of the cities of Judah these only remained, as cities fortified.

8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to declare freedom,
9 That every man should free his servant and his servant, the Hebrew and the Hebrew, so that none of them may hold his brother Judea in bondage.
10 And all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant obeyed, to release every slave of his and every one his slave to freedom, so that they would not continue to be enslaved to slaves, and they obeyed and let go;
eleven But after having thought it over, they began to take back slaves and slaves who were released to freedom, and forced them to be slaves and slaves.
12 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
13 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and said:
14 `At the end of the seventh year let each brother his, the Hebrew, who sold himself to you; Let him work for you for six years, and then release him from himself to freedom '; But your fathers did not listen to me, nor inclined their ear.
15 You have turned today and acted justly in my sight, declaring every one your freedom to your neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house over which my name is called;
16 But afterwards they changed their minds, and blasphemed My name, and they returned to themselves every slave of his and every one his slave, whom they released to freedom, where their souls please, and force them to be slaves and slaves to you.
17th Therefore thus saith the Lord, Ye have not hearkened unto me, that every man should set his brother and his neighbor free; Therefore, behold, I, declare the Lord, declare to you the liberty of being subjected to a sword, pestilence and hunger, and I will give you to anger in all the kingdoms of the earth;
18 And I will give back those who have transgressed my covenant, and who did not stand in the words of the covenant which they made before me, having cut the calf in two, and having passed between the parts that were cut off,
19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and priests, and all the people of the earth who passed between the slices of the calf -
20 I will give them into the hands of their enemies and into the hands of those who seek their souls, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth.
21 And Zedekiah king of Judah, and his princes, will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hands of those who seek their lives, and into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who has departed from you.
22 Behold, I will give command, says the Lord, and will bring them back to this city, and they will attack him, and they will take him, and burn him with fire, and make the cities of Judah uninhabited.

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