Jeremiah 34:12-16
Christian Standard Bible
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(A) 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[a] to you go. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free from your service.’(B) 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(C) at the house that bears my name.(D) 16 But you have changed your minds(E) and profaned my name.(F) 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.
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- 34:14 Or who was sold
Jeremiah 34:12-16
New English Translation
12 The Lord’s message came to Jeremiah,[a] 13 “The Lord God of Israel has a message for you:[b] ‘I made a covenant with your ancestors[c] when I brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves.[d] It stipulated,[e] 14 “Every seven years each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you shall set them free.”[f] But your ancestors did not obey me or pay any attention to me. 15 Recently, however, you yourselves[g] showed a change of heart and did what is pleasing to me. You granted your fellow countrymen their freedom and you made a covenant to that effect in my presence in the house that I have claimed for my own.[h] 16 But then you turned right around[i] and showed that you did not honor me.[j] Each of you took back your male and female slaves, whom you had freed as they desired, and you forced them to be your slaves again.[k]
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- Jeremiah 34:12 sn This is the resumption of the introduction in v. 8 after the lengthy description of the situation that had precipitated the Lord’s message to Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 34:13 tn Heb “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘…’” The style adopted here has been used to avoid a longer, more complex English sentence.
- Jeremiah 34:13 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 14, 15).
- Jeremiah 34:13 tn Heb “out of the house of bondage.”sn This refers to the Mosaic covenant, initiated at Mount Sinai and renewed on the plains of Moab. The statement “I brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” functions as the “historical prologue” in the Ten Commandments, which is the Lord’s vassal treaty with Israel in miniature. (See the study note on 11:2 and see Exod 20:2; Deut 5:6; Exod 34:8. As such, it was a motivating factor in their pledge of loyalty to him. This statement was also invoked within the law itself as a motivation for kindly treatment of slaves, including their emancipation [see Deut 15:15].)
- Jeremiah 34:13 tn Heb “made a covenant, saying.” This was only one of several stipulations of the covenant. The form used here has been chosen as an indirect way of relating the specific stipulation that is being focused upon to the general covenant that is referred to in v. 13.
- Jeremiah 34:14 sn Cf. Deut 15:12-18 for the complete statement of this law. Here only the first part of it is cited.
- Jeremiah 34:15 tn The presence of the independent pronoun in the Hebrew text is intended to contrast their actions with those of their ancestors.
- Jeremiah 34:15 sn This refers to the temple. See Jer 7:10, 11, 14, 30 and see the translator’s note on 7:10 and the study note on 10:25 for the explanation of the idiom involved here.
- Jeremiah 34:16 sn The verbs at the beginning of v. 15 and v. 16 are the same in the Hebrew. The people had two changes of heart (Heb “you turned”), one that was pleasing to him (Heb “right in his eyes”) and one that showed they did not honor him (Heb “profaned [or belittled] his name”).
- Jeremiah 34:16 sn Heb “you profaned my name.” His name had been invoked in the oath confirming the covenant. Breaking the covenant involved taking his name in vain (cf. Exod 20:7; Deut 5:11; Jer 5:2). Hence the one who bore the name was not treated with the special honor and reverence due him (see the study note on 23:27 for the significance of “name” in the OT).
- Jeremiah 34:16 tn Heb “and you brought them into subjection to be to you for male and female slaves.” See the translator’s note on v. 11 for the same redundant repetition, which is not carried over into the contemporary English sentence.
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