Jeremiah 34 - New International Version (NIV) (2024)

Warning to Zedekiah

1While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, “This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. 3You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and given into his hands. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

4‘ “Yet hear the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: you will not die by the sword; 5you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire in honour of your predecessors, the kings who ruled before you, so they will make a fire in your honour and lament, ‘Alas, master!’ I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.” ’

6Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out – Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities left in Judah.

Freedom for slaves

8The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. 9Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no-one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage. 10So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11But afterwards they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

12Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, 14“Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you for six years, you must let them go free.” Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. 15Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. 16But now you have turned round and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.

17‘Therefore this is what the Lord says: you have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim “freedom” for you, declares the Lord – “freedom” to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. 19The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, 20I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.

21‘I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. 22I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so that no-one can live there.’

Jeremiah 34 - New International Version (NIV) (2024)

FAQs

What is the message of Jeremiah 34? ›

This chapter anticipates the final moments in the assault of the Babylonian army against Jerusalem, when Jeremiah foretold the destruction of the city and the captivity of King Zedekiah (Jeremiah 34:1-7), and sharply criticized the treacherous dealings of the princes and people with the slaves that provoked the ...

What does Jeremiah 33:6 say? ›

Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.

What is the new covenant in Jeremiah 31-31-34? ›

The New Covenant: Forgiveness in a New Key

A third important item in God's new covenant is a generous forgiveness that wipes the slate of the past totally clean. From the least to the greatest, “I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34).

What is Jeremiah 32-27? ›

Jeremiah 32:27 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is there anything too difficult for Me?”

What is the book of Jeremiah trying to teach us? ›

What's the big idea? Because Jeremiah prophesied in the final years of Judah before God's people were exiled to Babylon, it makes sense that the book's overarching theme is judgment. Indeed, the first forty-five chapters focus primarily on the judgment coming to Judah because of its disbelief and disobedience.

What was God's warning to Jeremiah? ›

God warned Jeremiah that his own people would fight him, but God assured the prophet he would not be overcome. God's promises to be with Jeremiah and to rescue him are like his calls of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-13) and Paul (Acts 9:15-16).

When you deny God three times? ›

Following the arrest of Jesus, Peter denied knowing him three times, but after the third denial, he heard the rooster crow and recalled the prediction as Jesus turned to look at him. Peter then began to cry bitterly. This final incident is known as the Repentance of Peter.

What does it mean that God will guard your heart? ›

Guarding our hearts from a scriptural perspective means for us to be alert, through the power of Christ within us, to what enters and dwells in our hearts. We need to be aware of what we say and do, because over time, our thoughts and actions shape the status of our hearts.

What does hiding God's word in your heart keep you from? ›

Hiding God's word in your heart will foster spiritual growth by guarding against those things that hurt you and displease God. I love the words of the Psalmist when he said, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

What are the three promises in the new covenant? ›

Jesus' new covenant promises assure that everyone who will not resist the continual drawing of the Holy Spirit on their hearts will be drawn to Jesus through repentance and faith, be reconciled to God, forgiven of their sins, and sanctified through the writing of His law on their hearts, resulting in an “obedience that ...

What does God require in new covenant? ›

Thus, Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant, and they also believe that the blood of Christ, which was shed during his crucifixion, is the only blood sacrifice which is required by the covenant. There are several Christian eschatologies that further define the New Covenant.

What is God's new covenant with us? ›

Under the new covenant, God will write His laws on the hearts of His people to replace the sin that is presently written there (Jer. 17:1), but that which is written by God on the hearts of His people remains essentially the same as that which was written on tablets of stone.

What is the one thing that breaks God's heart above all? ›

Your sin, my sin, Adam & Eve's sin breaks God's heart! Every choice to not believe the truth, worship things, or act selfishly grieves our heavenly Father.

What does Jeremiah 17:14 say? ›

14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. 14 O LORD, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!

Why God breaks our hearts? ›

He breaks our hearts by loss to prove to us that the gospel truly is gain. He breaks our hearts by grief so he can increase our longing for the place where every tear will be dried. He breaks our hearts by disappointment to prove that this world can never truly satisfy.

What are the main messages of Jeremiah? ›

He called upon men to turn away from their wicked ways and dependence upon idols and false gods and return to their early covenantal loyalty to Yahweh. Repentance thus had a strong ethical colouring, since it meant living in obedience to Yahweh's will for the individual and the nation.

What is Jeremiah talking about? ›

Much of Jeremiah's prophetic preaching is based on the theme of the covenant between God and Israel (God would protect the people in return for their exclusive worship of him); Jeremiah insists that the covenant is conditional, and can be broken by Israel's apostasy (worship of gods other than Yahweh, the God of Israel ...

What does rend your garments mean? ›

Rend your heart and not your garments” (Joel 2:12–13). In Bible days, people expressed sorrow by tearing (rending) their clothes. Everyone who saw them knew they were grieving. If someone wanted to demonstrate their repentance and sorrow over their sin, they would publicly tear their clothes.

Why does God want us to guard our hearts? ›

Guarding our hearts from a scriptural perspective means for us to be alert, through the power of Christ within us, to what enters and dwells in our hearts. We need to be aware of what we say and do, because over time, our thoughts and actions shape the status of our hearts.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Margart Wisoky

Last Updated:

Views: 6221

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (58 voted)

Reviews: 81% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Margart Wisoky

Birthday: 1993-05-13

Address: 2113 Abernathy Knoll, New Tamerafurt, CT 66893-2169

Phone: +25815234346805

Job: Central Developer

Hobby: Machining, Pottery, Rafting, Cosplaying, Jogging, Taekwondo, Scouting

Introduction: My name is Margart Wisoky, I am a gorgeous, shiny, successful, beautiful, adventurous, excited, pleasant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.