Zedekiah to Die in Babylon

Jeremiah 34

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, a when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, b all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, 2 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Go and c speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, d I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 'And e you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you f face 1 to face, and you shall go to Babylon.' " ' 4 "Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: 'You shall not die by the sword. 5 'You shall die in peace; as in g the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, h so they shall burn incense for you and i lament for you, saying, "Alas, lord!" For I have pronounced the word, says the LORD.' "

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7 when the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only j these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.

8 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim k liberty to them: 9 l that every man should set free his male and female slave - a Hebrew man or woman - m that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. 10 Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. 11 But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves. 12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 13 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I made a n covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, 14 "At the end of o seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who 2 has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you." But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear. 15 'Then you 3 recently turned and did what was right in My sight - every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you p made a covenant before Me q in the house which is called by My name. 16 'Then you turned around and r profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom he had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.'

17 "Therefore thus says the LORD: 'You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. s Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,' says the LORD - t 'to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to u trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 'And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when v they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it - 19 'the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the 4 eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf - 20 'I will w give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their x dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. 21 'And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army y which has gone back from you. 22 z 'Behold, I will command,' says the LORD, 'and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it a and take it and burn it with fire; and b I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.' "

  1. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:1
    Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around.
    Jeremiah 32:1
    The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
    Jeremiah 32:2
    For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.
    Jeremiah 39:1
    In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it.
    Jeremiah 52:4
    Now it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and encamped against it; and they built a siege wall against it all around.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:15
    For behold, I am calling All the families of the kingdoms of the north," says the LORD; "They shall come and each one set his throne At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, Against all its walls all around, And against all the cities of Judah.
    Jeremiah 25:9
    Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the LORD, 'and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
    Daniel 2:37
    You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory.
    Daniel 2:38
    And wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all - you are this head of gold.
  3. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 36:11
    Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he becam...
    2 Chronicles 36:12
    He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, a...
    Jeremiah 22:1
    Thus says the LORD: "Go down to the house of th...
    Jeremiah 22:2
    And say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, O king of ...
    Jeremiah 37:1
    Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned ins...
    Jeremiah 37:2
    But neither he nor his servants nor the people ...
  4. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:9
    He burned the house of the LORD and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire.
    Jeremiah 21:10
    "For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good," says the LORD. "It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire."'
    Jeremiah 32:3
    For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
    Jeremiah 32:28
    Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
  5. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:4
    Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled at night by way of the gate between two walls, which was by the king's garden, even though the Chaldeans were still encamped all around against the city. And the king went by way of the plain.
    2 Kings 25:5
    But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him.
    Jeremiah 21:7
    "And afterward," says the LORD, "I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence and the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword. He shall not spare them, or have pity or mercy."'
    Jeremiah 52:7 - 11
    Then the city wall was broken through, and all the men of war fled and went out of the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden, even though the Chaldeans were near the city all around. And they went by way of the plain.
  6. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:6
    So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they pronounced judgment on him.
    2 Kings 25:7
    Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with bronze fetters, and took him to Babylon.
    Jeremiah 32:4
    And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him eye to eye.
    Jeremiah 39:5
    But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And when they had captured him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment on him.
    Jeremiah 39:6
    Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes in Riblah; the king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah.
  7. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 16:14
    They buried him in his own tomb, which he had made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled with spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made a very great burning for him.
    2 Chronicles 21:19
    Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning for his fathers.
  8. Cross References
    Daniel 2:46
    Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 22:18
    Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, my brother!' or 'Alas, my sister!' They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, master!' or 'Alas, his glory!
  10. Cross References
    2 Kings 18:13
    And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.
    2 Kings 19:8
    Then the Rabshakeh returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.
    2 Chronicles 11:5
    So Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah.
    2 Chronicles 11:9
    Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah.
  11. Cross References
    Exodus 21:2
    If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six...
    Leviticus 25:10
    And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and...
    Nehemiah 5:1 - 13
    And there was a great outcry of the people and ...
    Isaiah 58:6
    Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loo...
    Jeremiah 34:14
    At the end of seven years let every man set fre...
    Jeremiah 34:17
    Therefore thus says the LORD: 'You have not obe...
  12. Cross References
    Nehemiah 5:11
    "Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them."
  13. Cross References
    Leviticus 25:39 - 46
    And if one of your brethren who dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave.
  14. Cross References
    Exodus 24:3
    So Moses came and told the people all the words...
    Exodus 24:7
    Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read ...
    Exodus 24:8
    And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the p...
    Deuteronomy 5:2
    The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
    Deuteronomy 5:3
    The LORD did not make this covenant with our fa...
    Deuteronomy 5:27
    'You go near and hear all that the LORD our God...
    Jeremiah 31:32
    Not according to the covenant that I made with ...
  15. Cross References
    Exodus 21:2
    If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free and pay nothing.
    Exodus 23:10
    Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce.
    Deuteronomy 15:12
    If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
    1 Kings 9:22
    But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.
  16. Cross References
    2 Kings 23:3
    Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.
    Nehemiah 10:29
    These joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:10
    And then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these abominations'?
  18. Cross References
    Exodus 20:7
    You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
    Leviticus 19:12
    And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.
  19. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:34
    Then the land shall enjoy its sabbaths as long ...
    Leviticus 26:35
    As long as it lies desolate it shall rest - for...
    Esther 7:10
    So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had...
    Daniel 6:24
    And the king gave the command, and they brought...
    Matthew 7:2
    For with what judgment you judge, you will be j...
    Galatians 6:7
    Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for what...
    James 2:13
    For judgment is without mercy to the one who ha...
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 32:24
    Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!
    Jeremiah 32:36
    Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, 'It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence':
  21. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:25
    The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.
    Deuteronomy 28:64
    Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known - wood and stone.
    Jeremiah 29:18
    And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth - to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them.
  22. Cross References
    Genesis 15:10
    Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
    Genesis 15:17
    And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.
  23. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:19 - 21
    He also took out of the city an officer who had charge of the men of war, five men of the king's close associates who were found in the city, the chief recruiting officer of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.
    Jeremiah 22:25
    And I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear - the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans.
  24. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:26
    Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds ...
    1 Samuel 17:44
    And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, ...
    1 Samuel 17:46
    This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand...
    1 Kings 14:11
    "The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam...
    1 Kings 16:4
    "The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Baasha a...
    Psalms 79:2
    The dead bodies of Your servants They have give...
    Jeremiah 7:33
    The corpses of this people will be food for the...
    Jeremiah 16:4
    "They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not...
    Jeremiah 19:7
    And I will make void the counsel of Judah and J...
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:5 - 11
    Then Pharaoh's army came up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
    Jeremiah 39:4 - 7
    So it was, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, that they fled and went out of the city by night, by way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls. And he went out by way of the plain.
  26. Cross References
    Jeremiah 37:8
    "And the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with fire."'
    Jeremiah 37:10
    'For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.'"
  27. Cross References
    Jeremiah 38:3
    "Thus says the LORD: 'This city shall surely be...
    Jeremiah 39:1
    In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in...
    Jeremiah 39:2
    In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth...
    Jeremiah 39:8
    And the Chaldeans burned the king's house and t...
    Jeremiah 52:7
    Then the city wall was broken through, and all ...
    Jeremiah 52:13
    He burned the house of the LORD and the king's ...
  28. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:11
    "I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant."
    Jeremiah 44:2
    Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them.
    Jeremiah 44:6
    'So My fury and My anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.'
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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