⁷ when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, ^(A)Lachish and ^(B)Azekah, ^(C)for these were the only ^(D)fortified cities of Judah that remained.

⁸ The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah ^(E)had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem ^(F)to make a proclamation of liberty to them, ^9 (G)that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, ^(H)so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother.