Zedekiah Warned by God

34 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, ^(A)when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, ^(B)all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Go and ^(C)speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, ^(D)I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. ³ And ^(E)you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you ^(F)face^[a] to face, and you shall go to Babylon.’ ” ’ ⁴ Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. ⁵ You shall die in peace; as in ^(G)the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, ^(H)so they shall burn incense for you and ^(I)lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!” For I have pronounced the word, says the Lord.’ ”

⁶ Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, ⁷ when the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only ^(J)these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.

Treacherous Treatment of Slaves

⁸ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim ^(K)liberty to them: ^9 (L)that every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—^(M)that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. ¹⁰ Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. ¹¹ But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.

¹² Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ¹³ “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I made a ^(N)covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴ “At the end of ^(O)seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who ^[b]has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear.