Jeremiah — Chapter 34

📖 Jeremiah — Chapter 34 (KJV)

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Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.

Jeremiah 34:1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, ^Rwhen Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth ^Tof his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,

Jer 34:7; Jer 32:2

the dominion of his hand

Jeremiah 34:2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; ^RBehold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

Jer 34:22; Jer 21:4,10

Jeremiah 34:3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; ^Rand thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and ^The shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

Jer 39:6-7; Jer 52:10-11

his mouth shall speak to thy mouth

Jeremiah 34:4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:

Jeremiah 34:5 ^RBut thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.

2 Kgs 22:20; 2 Chr 34:28

Jeremiah 34:6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,

Jeremiah 34:7 When the king of Babylon’s army ^Rfought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

Jer 34:1; Jer 4:5

Jeremiah 34:8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah ^Rhad made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

2 Kgs 11:17; 2 Kgs 23:2-3

Jeremiah 34:9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an ^RHebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

Gen 14:13; Gen 40:15

Jeremiah 34:10 Now ^Rwhen all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.

Jer 26:10,16; Jer 36:12,24-25

Jeremiah 34:11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

Jeremiah 34:12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jeremiah 34:13 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; ^RI made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

Jer 31:32; Exod 24:3,7-8

Jeremiah 34:14 ^RAt the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which ^Thath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

Jer 34:8-9; Exod 21:1-4

hath sold himself

Jeremiah 34:15 And ye were ^Tnow turned, and had done right in my sight, ^Rin proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house ^Twhich is called by my name:

Jer 34:10-11

to day

whereupon my name is called

Jeremiah 34:16 But ^Rye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

Jer 34:11; 1 Sam 15:11

Jeremiah 34:17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: ^Rbehold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you ^Tto be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

Lev 26:34-35; Deut 19:19

for a removing

Jeremiah 34:18 And I will give the men that ^Rhave transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,

Deut 17:2; Josh 7:11

Jeremiah 34:19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, ^Rthe eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;

Jer 29:2; Jer 38:7

Jeremiah 34:20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, ^Rand into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

Jer 4:30; Jer 11:21

Jeremiah 34:21 And ^RZedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which are gone up from you.

Jer 34:3-5; Jer 39:6

Jeremiah 34:22 Behold, ^RI will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

2 Sam 16:11; 2 Kgs 24:2-3

📚 Study This Chapter

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 34:1–8 — Zedekiah is warned during the attack

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

The Babylonian army fights Jerusalem and remaining cities. Jeremiah announces the city’s capture and the king’s removal, while a covenant to release Hebrew servants introduces the next message.

Key Truth: Face the truth of the crisis.

Check What You Remember

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 34:9–15 — Liberty promised and then reversed

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

The people free their servants but later force them back into service. The Lord recalls the earlier command to release a Hebrew servant after six years and recognizes that proclaiming liberty had been right.

Key Truth: Keep a righteous promise after immediate pressure passes.

Check What You Remember

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 34:16–22 — Broken covenant brings judgment

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

Re-enslavement dishonors God’s name and the covenant made before him. A bitter announcement of liberty to sword, pestilence, and famine accompanies the promise that the besieging army will return.

Key Truth: Do not reclaim freedom you have rightly given another.

Check What You Remember

Related Scripture (KJV)

Exodus 21:2 — The law specifies release in the seventh year.

This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.

Reflect and Apply

Which promise to another person must you keep even when it becomes inconvenient?

Notes

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Jeremiah — Chapter 34