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Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?(A)

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“Is not this the kind of fasting(A) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(B)
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(C) free
    and break every yoke?(D)

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10 Moreover I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this taking of interest. 11 Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them take an oath to do as they had promised.(A)

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10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest!(A) 11 Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest(B) you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

12 “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”

Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath(C) to do what they had promised.

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Treacherous Treatment of Slaves

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them,(A) that all should set free their Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should hold another Judean in slavery.(B) 10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that all would set free their slaves, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again; they obeyed and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free and brought them again into subjection as slaves.

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Freedom for Slaves

The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people(A) in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom(B) for the slaves. Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.(C) 10 So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they changed their minds(D) and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

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Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.”

If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,(A)

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Then you will call,(A) and the Lord will answer;(B)
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger(C) and malicious talk,(D)

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Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed.(A)

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All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect,(A) so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.(B)

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    you who hate the good and love the evil,
who tear the skin off my people[a]
    and the flesh off their bones,(A)
who eat the flesh of my people,
    flay their skin off them,
break their bones in pieces,
    and chop them up like meat[b] in a kettle,
    like flesh in a caldron.(B)

Then they will cry to the Lord,
    but he will not answer them;
he will hide his face from them at that time
    because they have acted wickedly.(C)

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Footnotes

  1. 3.2 Heb from them
  2. 3.3 Gk: Heb as

    you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
    and the flesh from their bones;(A)
who eat my people’s flesh,(B)
    strip off their skin
    and break their bones in pieces;(C)
who chop(D) them up like meat for the pan,
    like flesh for the pot?(E)

Then they will cry out to the Lord,
    but he will not answer them.(F)
At that time he will hide his face(G) from them
    because of the evil they have done.(H)

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