圣经King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army and all his nations and nations on the earth to attack Jerusalem and all its cities. At that time, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
The Lord, the God of Israel, says, Go and tell King Zedekiah of Judah, and thus says the Lord: I will deliver this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.
You will not be able to escape his hands, you will definitely be caught and handed over to him. Your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he will speak to you mouth to mouth, and you will also go to Babylon.
O King Zedekiah of Judah, hear the word of the Lord again. This is what the Lord says about you: You will not be killed by the sword,
You will die in peace, and people will burn things for you, just as they burned them for your ancestors, who were kings before you. People will mourn for you, saying, Alas. My lord. The Lord said, I have spoken these words.
So the prophet Jeremiah told all these words to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.
At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the remaining cities of Judah, namely Lachish and Azekah. Originally, only these two fortified cities remained in Judah.
King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people of Jerusalem to proclaim their freedom, allowing each of his Hebrew servants and maidservants to go free, and no one shall make one of his Jewish brothers a slave. (Afterwards, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.)
All the leaders and all the people who made the treaty allowed their servants and maidservants to go out freely, and no one called them slaves anymore. Everyone complied and released them.
Later on, he reneged and called back the servants and maidservants who had been allowed to go free, forcing them to remain servants and maidservants.
Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: When I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, I made a covenant with them, saying,
If one of your Hebrew brothers sells to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year, each of you must let him go free. But your ancestors did not listen to me, nor did they turn their ears to listen.
Now turn and do what is right in my eyes, proclaim your freedom to your neighbors, and make a covenant before me in the house called my name.
But you have turned back and blasphemed my name. Each one has called back their servants and maidservants who were allowed to go freely, forcing them to remain servants and maidservants.
Therefore thus says the Lord, You have not obeyed me, each proclaiming your freedom to your brothers and neighbors. Look where. I declare to you the same freedom, that is, to free you from the sword, famine, and plague, and to cast you back and forth among all the nations under heaven. This is what the Lord has said.
The leaders of Judah, Jerusalem, eunuchs, priests, and all the people of the land split the calf in half, passed through it, and made a covenant before me. Later, he violated my covenant and did not follow the words of this covenant.
I will deliver them into the hands of my enemies and those who seek their lives. Their corpses will serve as food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
And I will deliver King Zedekiah of Judah and his leaders into the hands of their enemies and those who seek his life, as well as the army of the king of Babylon that has temporarily departed from you.
The Lord said, I will command them to return to this city, attack it, take it, and burn it with fire. I will also make the cities of Judah desolate, with no one to dwell in them.
