341 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord , when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army , with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples , were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities , saying , 2 "Thus says the Lord God of Israel , ' Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: "Thus says the Lord , 'Behold , I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon , and he will burn it with fire . 3 ' You will not escape from his hand , for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand ; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye , and he will speak with you face to face , and you will go to Babylon .' "' 4 "Yet hear the word of the Lord , O Zedekiah king of Judah ! Thus says the Lord concerning you, 'You will not die by the sword . 5 'You will die in peace ; and as spices were burned for your fathers , the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you; and they will lament for you, "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 remaining cities of Judah , that is, Lachish and Azekah , for they alone remained as fortified cities among the cities of Judah .
8 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim release to them: 9 that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant , a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman ; so that no one should keep them, a Jew his brother , in bondage . 10 And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant , so that no one should keep them any longer in bondage ; they obeyed , and set them free. 11 But afterward e they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free , and brought them into subjection for male servants and for female servants . 12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord , saying , 13 "Thus says the Lord God of Israel , 'I made a covenant with your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt , from the house of bondage , saying , 14 " At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you six years , you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. 15 "Although recently you had turned and done what is right in My sight , each man proclaiming release to his neighbor , and you had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name . 16 "Yet you turned and profaned My name , and each man took back his male servant and each man his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire , and you brought them into subjection to be your male servants and female servants ."' 17 "Therefore thus says the Lord , 'You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming release each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor . Behold , I am proclaiming a release to you,' declares the Lord , 'to the sword , to the pestilence and to the famine ; and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth . 18 'I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant , who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts - 19 the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem , the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf - 20 I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life . And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth . 21 ' Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life , and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has gone away from you. 22 'Behold , I am going to command ,' declares the Lord , 'and I will bring them back to this city ; and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire ; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant .' "
