Chapter Thirty-Four

1–7. The lot of Zedekiah. 8–22. The punishment awaiting the Judeans for taking back the slaves whom they had themselves freed.

Jer 34:1-7. The prophet announces that Zedekiah will be captured by the king of Babylon but will die a natural death and will be honored with a dignified burial.

Jeremiah 34:1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities: It is difficult to determine when this prophecy was spoken. In any case Jeremiah at that time was free (verse 2). This could have taken place during the first siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

Jeremiah 34:5. You will die in peace, and as they burned aromatic spices at the burial of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you and will mourn you: “Alas, lord!” for I have spoken this word, says the Lord. It is not said where Zedekiah will die. But from the fact that the usual expression “buried with his fathers” is not used here, one can conclude that the prophet predicts that Zedekiah will die in captivity. – Concerning the burning of a large quantity of aromatic substances at the burials of kings – see 2 Chr 16:14.

Jeremiah 34:7. Meanwhile the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that remained, against Lachish and Azekah; for among the cities of Judah these alone remained as fortified cities. Lachish and Azekah were two cities located to the southwest of Jerusalem in the Judean lowland. They alone held out against the siege of the Babylonians – the other cities had already been taken. Jer 34:8-22. At the proposal of Zedekiah, the princes and inhabitants of Jerusalem set free the slaves from among the Hebrews and Hebrew women, but then they reconsidered and took them back for themselves. For this the Lord announces various calamities and utter desolation of their land.

Jeremiah 34:8. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom, Zedekiah took from his subjects a promise to set free all slaves who were Hebrews. This had no relation whatsoever to either the sabbatical or the jubilee year, but was simply an act of piety. From verse 21 it is evident that this was done at a time when the Babylonian forces were besieging Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 34:11. but afterwards they turned and took back the slaves and the slave women whom they had set free and forced them into slavery again. “Afterwards,” that is, after the siege of Jerusalem had been temporarily lifted (verse 21) and the Hebrews began to regret the sacrifice they had made, which now seemed to them to be unnecessary.

Jeremiah 34:18. And I will give those who have broken My covenant and have not kept the words of the covenant that they made before Me – who cut a calf in two and passed between its divided parts – Concerning the making of covenants in antiquity – see Gen 15.

Jeremiah 34:20. I will give them into the hands of their enemies and into the hands of those who seek their life, and their corpses will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. Cf. Gen 15:11. The prophet recalls how the birds of prey fell upon the divided bodies of animals when Abraham made a covenant with God. So now the enemies, like birds of prey, will devour the corpses of the Hebrews.