Jeremiah’s Word to King Zedekiah

34 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,^(A) his whole army, all the kingdoms of the lands under his control,^(B) and all other peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities: ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon,^(C) and he will burn it. ³ As for you, you will not escape^(D) from him but are certain to be captured and handed over to him. You will meet the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak face to face;^[a](E) you will go to Babylon.

⁴ “‘Yet hear the Lord’s word, King Zedekiah of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; ⁵ you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your ancestors, the kings of old who came before you.^(F) “Oh, master!” will be the lament for you, for I have spoken this word. This is the Lord’s declaration.’”

⁶ So the prophet Jeremiah related all these words to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem ⁷ while the king of Babylon’s army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah’s remaining cities—that is, Lachish and Azekah,^(G) for they were the only ones left of Judah’s fortified cities.

The People and Their Slaves

⁸ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom^(H) to them. ⁹ As a result, each was to let his male and female Hebrew slaves go free, and no one was to enslave his fellow Judean.^{(I) 10} All the officials and people who entered into covenant to let their male and female slaves go free—in order not to enslave them any longer—obeyed and let them go free. ¹¹ Afterward, however, they changed their minds and took back their male and female slaves they had let go free and forced them to become slaves again.

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ¹³ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant^(J) with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying, ¹⁴ ‘At the end of seven years, each of you must let his fellow Hebrew who sold himself^[b] to you go. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free from your service.’^(K) But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention. ¹⁵ Today you repented and did what pleased me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before me^(L) at the house that bears my name.^{(M) 16} But you have changed your minds^(N) and profaned my name.^(O) Each has taken back his male and female slaves who had been set free to go wherever they wanted, and you have again forced them to be your slaves.

¹⁷ “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming freedom, each for his fellow Hebrew and for his neighbor.^(P) I hereby proclaim freedom for you^(Q)—this is the Lord’s declaration—to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth’s kingdoms.^{(R) 18} As for those who disobeyed my covenant,^(S) not keeping the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat them like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.^{(T) 19} 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 all these I will hand over to their enemies, to those who intend to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.^{(U) 21} I will hand King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials over to their enemies, to those who intend to take their lives, to the king of Babylon’s army that is withdrawing. ²² I am about to give the command—this is the Lord’s declaration—and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it.^(V) I will make Judah’s cities a desolation, without inhabitant.”^(W)

The Rechabites’ Example

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim^(X) son of Josiah, king of Judah: ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them,^(Y) and bring them to one of the chambers^(Z) of the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine.”

³ So I took Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the entire house of the Rechabites— ⁴ and I brought them into the temple of the Lord to a chamber occupied by the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God,^(AA) who had a chamber near the officials’ chamber, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. ⁵ I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink wine!”

⁶ But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab,^(AB) son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded, ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. ⁷ You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life, so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a resident alien.’^{(AC) 8} We have obeyed Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, in all he commanded us. So we haven’t drunk wine our whole life—we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters. ⁹ We also have not built houses to live in and do not have vineyard, field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched into the land,^(AD) we said, ‘Come, let’s go into Jerusalem to get away from the Chaldean and Aramean armies.’ So we have been living in Jerusalem.”

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ¹³ “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go, say to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not accept discipline^(AE) by listening to my words?—this is the Lord’s declaration. ¹⁴ The words of Jonadab, son of Rechab, have been carried out. He commanded his descendants not to drink wine, and they have not drunk to this day because they have obeyed their ancestor’s command. But I have spoken to you time and time again,^[c](AF) and you have not obeyed me! ¹⁵ Time and time again^[d] I have sent you all my servants the prophets, proclaiming, “Turn, each one from his evil way,^(AG) and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them.^(AH) Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay attention or obey me.^{(AI) 16} Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out their ancestor’s command he gave them, but these people have not obeyed me. ¹⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring on Judah and on all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸ But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done everything he commanded you, ¹⁹ this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before me always.’”^(AJ)

Psalm 19

The Witness of Creation and Scripture

For the choir director. A psalm of David.