The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying,
“This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.
And you will not escape out of his hand, but will surely be captured and given into his hand. And your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he will speak with you mouth to mouth, and you will go to Babylon.’
Yet hear the word of Yahweh, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what Yahweh says concerning you, ‘You will not die by the sword,
you will die in peace. And just as with the burnings made for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn a fire for you, and they will lament you, saying, “Alas, master!” for I have spoken the word, says Yahweh.’”
Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem
when the king of Babylon’s army was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah, because these were the only ones left of the fortified cities of Judah.
This had been the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after King Zedekiah had cut a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them,
that every man should let his male servant and his female servant—who was a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman—free; that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother.
All the officials and all the people obeyed—those who had entered into the covenant that everyone was to let his male slave and his female slave go free, and that no one was to keep them as slaves anymore—they obeyed, and let them go.
But afterwards they turned back and forced the slaves and the slave girls, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection as slaves and slave girls.
Therefore the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,
“This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: I cut a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. I said,
‘At the end of seven years every one of you must release his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must let him go free from you.’ But your fathers did not listen to me, nor inclined their ear.
You had recently turned and done what is right in my eyes by each man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor, and you had cut a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name.
But then you turned back and profaned my name, and every man forced his slave, and his slave girl, whom you had let go free to go where they wanted, to return. And you brought them into subjection to be your slaves and slave girls.
Therefore this is what Yahweh says: You have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother and every man to his neighbor, so behold, I proclaim to you a liberty, says Yahweh, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine, and I will make you to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.
I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant that they made before me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts—
the officials of Judah, and the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—
I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life, and their dead bodies will be for food for the birds of the air and for the animals of the earth.
I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army who have withdrawn from you.
Behold, I will command, says Yahweh, and cause them to return to this city. And they will fight against it, and capture it, and burn it with fire, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”