Jer 21, Jer 34 | ESV | STEP | This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord , when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest , the son of Maaseiah , saying ,

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him ^aPashhur the son of Malchiah and ^bZephaniah the priest, the son of ^cMaaseiah, saying, 2 ^d“Inquire of the Lord for us, ^efor Nebuchadnezzar ^{▼▼Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, an alternate spelling of Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) occurring frequently from Jeremiah 21–52; this latter spelling is used throughout Jeremiah for consistency} king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to ^gall his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^hBehold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. ⁱAnd I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you ^jwith outstretched hand and strong arm, ^kin anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, ^lI will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. ^mHe shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

8 “And to this people you shall say: ⁿ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, ^oI set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die ^pby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and ^qsurrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live ^rand shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For ^sI have set my face against this city for harm and ^tnot for good, declares the Lord: ^uit shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

Message to the House of David

11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:

^v“‘Execute justice ^win the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the oppressor
him who has been robbed,
^xlest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of your evil deeds.’”
13 ^y“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
O rock of the plain,

declares the Lord;
you who say, ^z‘Who shall come down against us,
or who shall enter our habitations?’
14 ^aaI will punish you according to ^abthe fruit of your deeds,

declares the Lord;
^acI will kindle a fire in her forest,
^adand it shall devour all that is around her.”

Jeremiah 34

Zedekiah to Die in Babylon

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when ^aeNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army ^afand all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to ^agZedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^ahBehold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 ^aiYou shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. ^ajYou shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! ^akThus says the Lord concerning you: ^al‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. ^amAnd as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall ^anburn spices for you ^aoand lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the Lord.”

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, ^apLachish and ^aqAzekah, ^arfor these were the only ^asfortified cities of Judah that remained.

8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after King Zedekiah ^athad made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem ^auto make a proclamation of liberty to them, 9 ^avthat everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, ^awso that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. 10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves ^axthey had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. 12 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 13 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when ^ayI brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, 14 ^az‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; ^bayou must set him free from your service.’ But ^bbyour fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. 15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes ^bcby proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and ^bdyou made a covenant before me in the ^behouse that is called by my name, 16 but then you turned around ^bfand profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, ^bgwhom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.

17 “Therefore, thus says the Lord: You have not obeyed me ^bhby proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; ^bibehold, I proclaim to you liberty ^bjto the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the Lord. ^bkI will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of ^blthe covenant that they made before me, I will make them like ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks them like} ^bnthe calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, ^bothe eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies ^bpand into the hand of those who seek their lives. ^bqTheir dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 21 And ^brZedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon ^bswhich has withdrawn from you. 22 Behold, ^btI will command, declares the Lord, and will ^bubring them back to this city. ^bvAnd they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. ^bwI will make the cities of Judah a desolation ^bxwithout inhabitant.”