1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord (when [a]Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, and all his host, and all the kingdoms of the earth, that were under the power of his hand, and all people fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cites thereof) saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babel, and he shall burn it with fire,
3 And thou shall not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand, and thine eyes shall behold the face of the king of Babel, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babel.
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,
5 But thou shalt die in [b]peace: and according to the burning for thy fathers the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odors for thee, and they shall lament thee, saying, Oh [c]Lord: for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord.
6 Then Jeremiah the Prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
7 (When the King of Babel’s host fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah, that were left, even against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these strong cities remained of the cities of Judah)
8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people, which were at Jerusalem, [d]to proclaim liberty unto them,
9 That every man should let his [e]servant go free, and every man his handmaid, which was an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, and that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.
10 Now when all the princes, and all the people which was agreed to the covenant, heard that everyone should let his servant go free, and everyone his handmaid, and that none should serve themselves of them anymore, they obeyed and let them go.
11 But afterward they [f]repented and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and held them in subjection as servants and handmaids.
12 Therefore the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
13 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I made a covenant with your fathers, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of [g]servants, saying,
14 At the term of seven years, let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew which hath been sold unto thee: and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers obeyed me not, neither inclined their ears.
15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight in proclaiming liberty, every man to his neighbor, and ye had made a covenant before me in [h]the house, whereupon my Name is called.
16 But ye repented, and polluted my Name: for ye have caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and hold them in subjection to be unto you as servants and as handmaids.
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Ye have not obeyed me, in proclaiming freedom every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to [i]the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine, and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
18 And I will give those men that have broken my Covenant, and have not kept the words of the Covenant, which they had made before me, when they [j]cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,
19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the Eunuchs, and the Priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf,
20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hands 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.
21 And Zedekiah 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 Babel’s host, which [k]are gone up from you.
22 Behold, I 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 desolate without an inhabitant.