The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had (A)made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to (B)proclaim [a]release to them: that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a (C)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that (D)no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. 10 And all the (E)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 34:8 Or liberty

The People and Their Slaves

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(A) to them. As a result, each was to let his male and female Hebrew slaves go free, and no one was to enslave his fellow Judean.(B) 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.

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