1The word that came on Jeremiah from before LORD JEHOVAH, and Nebukadnetsar, King of Babel, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of Earth, the authority of his hand, and all the nations fighting against Jerusalem and against all her cities: 2“Thus says LORD JEHOVAH, God of Israel: ‘Go and say to Tsedeqiah, King of Judea, “Thus says LORD JEHOVAH: ‘Behold, I am handing this city over into the hand of the King of Babel, and he shall burn it in fire 3And you shall not escape from his hands, but being seized, you shall be seized, and into his hands you shall be delivered, and your eyes shall see the eyes of the King of Babel, and your mouth shall speak with his mouth, and to Babel you shall go’ 4However, hear the word of LORD JEHOVAH, Tsedeqia, King of Judea: “Thus says LORD JEHOVAH unto you: ‘You shall not die by the sword 5But you shall die in peace, and as the first Kings mourned for your fathers who were before you, in this way they shall mourn over you. ‘Woe, Master!’ They shall mourn over you, because this message I have spoken, says LORD JEHOVAH”

6And Jeremiah the Prophet spoke to Tsedeqiah, King of Judea, all these words in Jerusalem 7And the army of the King of Babel was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judea that are left, against Lakish and against Azqa, because these fortified cities were left in the villages of Judea

8The word that came on Jeremiah from before LORD JEHOVAH saying: “After King Tsedeqia covenanted a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem: “They shall be called ‘Set free’ 9That a man may release his Servant and a man his Handmaid the Hebrew male or Hebrew woman as children of freedom, that they shall not enslave, any man, his Hebrew brother 10And all of the Princes and all the people heard, and they took upon themselves that they would release, each man, his Servant, and each man his Handmaid, as children of freedom, that they would not serve them again, and they freed them 11And they turned after this and they subjected the freed ones and they made them Servants

12And the response of LORD JEHOVAH was on Jeremiah saying: 13“Thus says LORD JEHOVAH, God of Israel: ‘I covenanted a covenant with your fathers in the day when I brought them out from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying: 14“After seven years you shall release, each man, his Hebrew brother that will be sold to you, and he shall work for you six years, and you shall release him as a son of freedom from your presence.” And your fathers did not listen to me, and they did not incline their ears to me 15And you have turned today and you did a thing that is beautiful in my eyes to call, each man, for freedom for his neighbor, and you covenanted a covenant before me in the house upon which my name is called 16And you turned and you defiled my name, and you caused, every man, his Servant, and every man, his Handmaid, to return, whose souls you released as children of freedom, and you subjected them that they would be Servants and Maidservants to you

17Because of this, thus says LORD JEHOVAH, God of Israel: “You have not listened to me to proclaim, each man, freedom to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim to you freedom to the sword, and to starvation, and to slaughter, says LORD JEHOVAH, and I shall give you for a horror to all the kingdoms of the Earth 18And I shall give to the men who violated against my covenant, for they did not confirm my words of the covenant, for they set up before me a calf that they cut into two, and they passed between its halves 19The Princes of Judea and of Jerusalem and Eunuchs and Priests and all the people of the land who passed between the halves of a calf 20And I shall deliver them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their souls, and their corpses shall be food for the birds of Heaven and for the beasts of the Earth 21And Tsedeqia, King of Judea, and his Princes I shall hand over into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their souls, and into the hand of the army of the King of Babel who come up against them 22Behold, I am commanding, says LORD JEHOVAH, and I shall lead them to this city and they shall fight against it, and they shall conquer her and they shall burn her in fire, also the villages of Judea I shall give to the wilderness that is without one inhabitant