¹The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadrezzar was king of Babylon, and all his forces and all the kingdoms of the land under the rule of his hand and all the various peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities. It said, ²“This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and say to him, «This is what the Lord says: ‹I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. ³And you will not escape from his grip, for you will certainly be seized and delivered into his hand, and your eyes will see the king of Babylon, and he will speak to you face to face, and you will go to Babylon. ⁴But hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah, king of Judah.› This is what the Lord says to you: ‹You will not die by the sword. ⁵You will die in peace and according to the aromatic burning for your fathers – the former kings who were before you. That is how they will burn for you, and they will mourn for you saying, "Alas, lord." For I have spoken the word, says the Lord.› » ’ ” ⁶So Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words in Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah, ⁷while the king of Babylon's forces were fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah which remained – against Lachish and against Azekah, for they remained among the cities of Judah, being fortified cities. ⁸This is 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 liberty to them, ⁹that every man should set his manservant and his maidservant free – the Hebrew man and the Hebrew woman – so as not to impose servitude on them, on any Jew, his brother, ¹⁰a covenant which all the officials heard, as well as all the people who had entered into the covenant for each man to set his manservant free, and each his maidservant, so that they would not impose servitude on them any more. And they heeded it and set them free. ¹¹But after that they went back on it, and they made the menservants and the maidservants, whom they had set free, return, and forcibly made them menservants and maidservants again. ¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, from the Lord, saying, ¹³“This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I made a covenant with your fathers on the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from a house of slaves, when I said, ¹⁴«After seven years every man will release his Hebrew brother who was sold to you, and who has served you for six years, and you will let him go away from you free.» But your fathers did not heed me and did not incline their ears. ¹⁵Then you returned today, and you did what is right in my sight, by each man proclaiming liberty to his neighbour, and you made a covenant in my presence in the house at which my name is called on. ¹⁶Then you turned away and profaned my name, and each man brought his manservant and his maidservant back, whom you had set free for their comfort, and you forced them to be your menservants and maidservants. ¹⁷Therefore this is what the Lord says: «You have not heeded me requiring you to proclaim liberty, each man to his brother and each man to his neighbour. I am about to proclaim liberty to you, says the Lord, to the sword, to pestilence and to famine, and I will deliver you to what will be horrific – to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸And I will deliver the men who transgressed my covenant – who did not fulfil the words of the covenant which they made in my presence, at the calf which they cut in two, and at which they passed between its parts ¹⁹– the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests and all the people of the land who passed through between the parts of the calf – ²⁰and I will deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. And their corpses will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the land. ²¹And I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives and into the hand of the forces of the king of Babylon, which are departing from you. ²²I am about to give command, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and capture it and burn it with fire, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without leaving an inhabitant.» ’ ”