¹ The word which came unto Jeremiah from Yahweh,—when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his force and all the kingdoms of the earth the dominion of his hand, and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and against all her cities, saying:

² Thus, saith Yahweh God of Israel, Go and speak unto Zedekiah king of Judah,—and say unto him—Thus, saith Yahweh, Behold me! giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire;

³ And, thou, shalt not escape out of his hand, For thou shalt be, taken, And into his hand, shalt thou be delivered,—And, thine own eyes, into the eyes of the king of Babylon, shall look, And his mouth, with thy mouth, shall speak And Babylon, shalt thou enter.

⁴ Nevertheless, hear the word of Yahweh, O Zedekiah, king of Judah,—Thus, saith Yahweh Concerning thee, Thou shalt not die, by the sword;

⁵ In peace, shalt thou die, And with the burnings made for thy fathers the former kings who were before thee, so, shall they make a burning unto thee, And, with an, Alas lord! shall they lament thee,—Because of the word, I, have spoken, Declareth Yahweh.

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

⁷ when, the force of the king of Babylon, was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left,—against Lachish and against Azekah, for they, remained among the cities of Judah as fortified cities.

⁸ The word which came unto Jeremiah, from Yahweh,—after that King Zedekiah had solemnised a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, proclaiming unto them liberty:

⁹ that every man should let his servant and every man his handmaid, being a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free,—so that no man should use them as slaves, to wit a Jew his brother;

¹⁰ so then they hearkened—even all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant that every man should let his servant and every man his handmaid, go free, so as not to use them as slaves, any longer,—yea they hearkened, and let them go,

¹¹ howbeit they turned after that, and brought back the servants and the handmaids whom they had let go, free, and brought them into subjection as servants and as handmaids,

¹² So then the word of Yahweh came unto Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying:

¹³ Thus, saith Yahweh God of Israel,—I myself, solemnised a covenant with your fathers, in the day when I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves saying:

¹⁴ At the end of seven years, shall ye let go every man his brother, being a Hebrew, who shall sell himself unto thee and serve thee, six years, then shalt thou let him go, free, from thee, Howbeit your fathers hearkened not unto me neither inclined their ear.

¹⁵ And, though, ye, just now turned and did that which was right in mine eyes, by proclaiming liberty, every man to his neighbour,—and solemnised a covenant before me, in the house on which my Name hath been called,

¹⁶ yet have ye turned and profaned my Name, and brought back, every man his servant and every man his hand-maid, whom ye had let go, free, at their own desire,—and have brought them into subjection, to become your servants and handmaids.

¹⁷ Therefore—Thus, saith Yahweh, Ye, have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every man to his brother and every man to his neighbour: Behold me! proclaiming, to you, a liberty: Declareth Yahweh unto the sword, unto the pestilence, and unto the famine, so will I make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth;

¹⁸ and will give the men who are transgressing my covenant, in that they have not confirmed the words of the covenant, which they solemnised, before me, when they cut the calf, in twain, and passed between the parts thereof;

¹⁹ even the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests, and all the people of the land,—who passed between the parts of the calf,

²⁰ yea I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them who are seeking their life,—and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.

²¹ Zedekiah king of Judah also with his princes, will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them who are seeking their life,—even into the hand of the force of the king of Babylon, who are going up from you.

²² Behold me! giving command, Declareth Yahweh, and I will bring them back unto this city, and they will fight against it and capture it, and consume it with fire,—and, the cities of Judah, will I make too desolate to have an inhabitant.