Jeremiah 41
They Freed Their Slaves and Took Them Back
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The Word Concerning Zedekiah
41:1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord while Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his whole army, and all the land under his rule were fighting Jerusalem and all Judah’s cities:
41:2Thus said the Lord: Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, Thus said the Lord: This city will certainly be handed over to Babylon’s king. He will seize it and burn it with fire.
41:3You will certainly not be saved from his hand. You will certainly be captured and handed over to him. Your eyes will see his eyes, and his mouth will speak with your mouth. You will enter Babylon.
41:4But hear the Lord’s word, Zedekiah king of Judah. Thus says the Lord:
41:5You will die in peace. As they wept for your fathers who reigned before you, they will weep for you and lament you, O lord! For I have spoken the word, said the Lord.
41:6Jeremiah spoke all these words to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem,
41:7while Babylon’s king’s force fought Jerusalem and Judah’s cities, Lachish and Azekah; these were the fortified cities left among Judah’s cities.
41:8The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah concluded a covenant with the people to proclaim release:
The Covenant to Release the Hebrew Slaves
41:9each was to send his Hebrew male slave and his Hebrew female slave away free, so that a man from Judah would not be enslaved.
41:10All the magnates and all the people who had entered the covenant to send away their male and female slaves turned back,
41:11and thrust them into the position of male and female slaves.
41:12The Lord’s word came to Jeremiah:
I Established a Covenant with Your Fathers
41:13Thus said the Lord, Israel’s God: I established a covenant with your fathers on the day I rescued them from Egypt, from the house of slavery, saying:
41:14When six years are complete, you must send away your Hebrew brother who is sold to you. He will work for you six years, and you must send him away free. But they did not obey Me or incline their ears.
41:15Today they turned to do what was right before My eyes, each proclaiming his neighbor’s release. They concluded a covenant before Me in the house over which My name is invoked.
41:16Then you reversed yourselves and profaned My name by bringing back your male and female slaves, whom you had sent away free in their own persons, to be your slaves.
You Did Not Listen to Me
41:17Therefore thus said the Lord: You did not obey Me by proclaiming release, each to his neighbor. So I proclaim release for you to sword, death, and famine! I will give you over to scattering among all the earth’s kingdoms.
41:18I will hand over the men who passed beyond My covenant, who did not uphold My covenant which they made before Me—the calf they made, to work for it—
41:19Judah’s rulers, the powerful men, the priests, and the people.
41:20I will hand them over to their enemies, and their carcasses will become food for the birds of heaven and the wild beasts of the earth.
41:21I will hand Zedekiah king of Judea and their rulers over to their enemies. And the force of Babylon’s king is for those running away from them.
41:22I am giving orders, says the Lord, and will bring them back to this land. They will fight against it, take it, and burn it with fire, along with Judah’s cities; I will make them deserted of inhabitants.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.