A Prophecy against Zedekiah 1 Brenton The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord (now Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the country of his dominion, were warring against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Juda,) saying, BSB BSB: This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control, and all the other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities.
2 Brenton Thus has the Lord said; Go to Sedekias king of Juda, and thou shalt say to him, Thus has the Lord said, This city shall certainly be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it, and shall burn it with fire: BSB BSB: The LORD, the God of Israel, told Jeremiah to go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.
3 Brenton and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt certainly be taken, and shalt be given into his hands; and thine eyes shall see his eyes, and thou shalt enter into Babylon. BSB BSB: And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.
4 Brenton But hear the word of the Lord, O Sedekias king of Juda; Thus saith the Lord, BSB BSB: Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the LORD says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;
5 Brenton Thou shalt die in peace: and as they wept for thy fathers that reigned before thee, they shall weep also for thee, saying , Ah lord! and they shall lament for thee down to the grave: for I have spoken the word, said the Lord. BSB BSB: you will die in peace. As spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so people will burn spices for you and lament, ‘Alas, O master!’ For I Myself have spoken this word, declares the LORD.”
6 Brenton And Jeremias spoke to king Sedekias all these words in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: In Jerusalem, then, Jeremiah the prophet relayed all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah
Freedom for Hebrew Slaves 8 Brenton The word that came from the Lord to Jeremias, after king Sedekias had concluded a covenant with the people, to proclaim a release; BSB BSB: After King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty, the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD
9 Brenton that every one should set at liberty his servant, and every one his handmaid, the Hebrew man and Hebrew woman, that no man of Juda should be a bondman. BSB BSB: that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage.
10 Brenton Then all the nobles, and all the people who had entered into the covenant, engaging to set free every one his man-servant, and every one his maid, turned, BSB BSB: So all the officials and all the people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their menservants and maidservants and no longer hold them in bondage. They obeyed and released them,
11 Brenton and gave them over to be men-servants and maid-servants. BSB BSB: but later they changed their minds and took back the menservants and maidservants they had freed, and they forced them to become slaves again.
12 Brenton And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying, BSB BSB: Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
13 Brenton Thus saith the Lord; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day wherein I took them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, BSB BSB: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your forefathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying:
14 Brenton When six years are accomplished, thou shalt set free thy brother the Hebrew, who shall be sold to thee: for he shall serve thee six years, and then thou shalt let him go free: but they hearkened not to me, and inclined not their ear. BSB BSB: Every seventh year, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free. But your fathers did not listen or incline their ear.
15 Brenton And this day they turned to do that which was right in my sight, to proclaim every one the release of his neighbour; and they had concluded a covenant before me, in the house whereon my name is called. BSB BSB: Recently you repented and did what pleased Me; each of you proclaimed freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me in the house that bears My Name.
16 Brenton But ye turned and profaned my name, to bring back every one his servant, and every one his handmaid, whom ye had sent forth free and at their own disposal, to be to you men-servants and maid-servants. BSB BSB: But now you have changed your minds and profaned My name. Each of you has taken back the menservants and maidservants whom you had set at liberty to go wherever they wanted, and you have again forced them to be your slaves.
17 Brenton Therefore thus said the Lord; Ye have not hearkened to me, to proclaim a release every one to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a release to you, to the sword, and to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will give you up to dispersion among all the kingdoms of the earth. BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
18 Brenton And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, who have not kept my covenant, which they made before me, the calf which they prepared to sacrifice with it, BSB BSB: And those who have transgressed My covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.
19 Brenton the princes of Juda, and the men in power, and the priests, and the people; BSB BSB: The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf,
20 Brenton I will even give them to their enemies, and their carcases shall be food for the birds of the sky and for the wild beasts of the earth. BSB BSB: I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
21 Brenton And I will give Sedekias king of Judea, and their princes, into the hands of their enemies, and the host of the king of Babylon shall come upon them that run away from them. BSB BSB: And I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon that had withdrawn from you.
22 Brenton Behold, I will give command, saith the Lord, and will bring them back to this land; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire, and the cities of Juda; and I will make them desolate without inhabitants. BSB BSB: Behold, I am going to give the command, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.