¹Ketika Nebukadnezar raja Babel dengan angkatan perangnya yang diperkuat oleh pasukan-pasukan dari segala bangsa dan negara yang takluk kepadanya datang menyerang Yerusalem dan kota-kota di sekitarnya, TUHAN berbicara kepadaku.

¹The word which came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying:

²Ia menyuruh aku pergi kepada Zedekia raja Yehuda, dan berkata begini, "Aku, TUHAN Allah Israel, akan menyerahkan kota ini kepada raja Babel dan ia akan membakarnya.

²Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

³Engkau tak akan lolos, melainkan ditangkap dan diserahkan kepadanya. Engkau akan bertemu dan berbicara sendiri dengan dia, lalu engkau akan pergi ke Babel.

³and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

⁴Tetapi dengarkan perkataan-Ku ini mengenai engkau, Zedekia! Engkau tidak akan tewas dalam pertempuran,

⁴Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah: thus saith Jehovah concerning thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword;

⁵melainkan mati dengan tentram. Dan sebagaimana rakyat membakar kemenyan ketika memakamkan leluhurmu yang memerintah sebelum engkau, begitu pula rakyat akan membakar kemenyan untukmu. Mereka akan berkabung dan berkata, 'Aduh! Raja kami sudah tiada!' Aku, TUHAN, telah berbicara."

⁵thou shalt die in peace; and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings that were before thee, so shall they make a burning for thee; and they shall lament thee, [saying], Ah Lord! for I have spoken the word, saith Jehovah.

⁶Maka pesan TUHAN itu kusampaikan kepada Raja Zedekia di Yerusalem,

⁶Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,

⁷ketika pasukan raja Babel sedang menyerang kota itu. Mereka juga menyerang kota Lakhis dan Aseka, dua kota berbenteng yang masih bertahan di Yehuda.

⁷when the king of Babylon's army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these [alone] remained of the cities of Judah [as] fortified cities.

⁸Raja Zedekia dan penduduk Yerusalem mengadakan perjanjian untuk membebaskan

⁸The word that came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people that were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them;

⁹budak-budak Ibrani mereka, baik laki-laki maupun perempuan supaya tak ada seorang pun dari bangsa Israel yang memperbudak orang sebangsanya.

⁹that every man should let his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, that is a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that none should make bondmen of them, [to wit], of a Jew his brother.

¹⁰Seluruh rakyat dan para pejabat pemerintah yang telah mengadakan perjanjian untuk membebaskan budak-budak mereka dan tak akan memperbudaknya lagi, betul-betul melepaskan budak-budak mereka itu.

¹⁰And all the princes and all the people obeyed, that had entered into the covenant, that every one should let his man-servant, and every one his maid-servant, go free, that none should make bondmen of them any more; they obeyed, and let them go:

¹¹Tapi kemudian mereka berubah pikiran, lalu mengambil kembali budak-budak itu, dan memaksanya menjadi budak lagi.

¹¹but afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

¹²Maka TUHAN, Allah Israel, menyuruh aku berkata begini kepada orang-orang itu, "Ketika Aku membawa leluhurmu keluar dari Mesir dan membebaskan mereka dari perbudakan, Aku telah membuat perjanjian dengan mereka.

¹²Therefore the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

¹³(34:12)

¹³Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,

¹⁴Aku berkata bahwa semua budak Ibrani yang telah melayani enam tahun lamanya, harus dibebaskan pada akhir tahun ketujuh. Tapi leluhurmu tidak mau memperhatikan atau mendengarkan apa yang Kukatakan itu.

¹⁴At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee, and hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

¹⁵Beberapa hari yang lalu kamu mengubah kelakuanmu dan melakukan yang menyenangkan hati-Ku. Kamu semua menyetujui untuk membebaskan budak-budak sebangsamu, dan membuat perjanjian dengan Aku di dalam Rumah-Ku.

¹⁵And ye were now turned, and had done that which is right in mine eyes, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

¹⁶Pejabat-pejabat pemerintah Yehuda dan Yerusalem bersama para pegawai istana, imam-imam dan semua pengawas tanahmu telah mensahkan perjanjian itu dengan menyembelih sapi, memotongnya menjadi dua, dan berjalan di antara kedua potongan itu. Tapi, kemudian kamu berubah pikiran dan menghina Aku. Budak-budak yang sudah kamu bebaskan sesuai dengan keinginan mereka, kamu ambil kembali dan paksakan untuk menjadi budak lagi. Karena itu, Aku, TUHAN, berkata bahwa kamu telah melanggar perintah-Ku, dan tidak mentaati syarat-syaratnya, sebab kamu tidak membebaskan sesamamu bangsa Israel. Nah, sekarang baiklah Aku memberikan kebebasan kepadamu: kebebasan untuk tewas dalam pertempuran atau oleh wabah penyakit atau oleh kelaparan. Aku akan memperlakukan kamu seperti kamu memperlakukan sapi yang kamu sembelih itu. Aku akan membuat segala bangsa di dunia merasa ngeri melihat apa yang Kulakukan terhadap kamu.

¹⁶but ye turned and profaned my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had let go free at their pleasure, to return; and ye brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

¹⁷(34:16)

¹⁷Therefore thus saith Jehovah: ye have not hearkened unto me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim unto you a liberty, saith Jehovah, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth.

¹⁸(34:16)

¹⁸And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, that have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in twain and passed between the parts thereof;

¹⁹(34:16)

¹⁹the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, that passed between the parts of the calf;

²⁰Aku akan menyerahkan kamu kepada musuh yang ingin membunuh kamu. Mayatmu akan dimakan burung dan binatang buas.

²⁰I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be for food unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth.

²¹Zedekia raja Yehuda dan para pejabat pemerintahnya akan Kuserahkan kepada orang-orang yang ingin membunuh mereka. Aku akan menyerahkan mereka kepada tentara Babel, yang kini telah meninggalkan kamu.

²¹And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, that are gone away from you.

²²Aku akan memberi aba-aba supaya mereka kembali ke kota ini, lalu menyerang, merebut, dan membakarnya. Kota-kota Yehuda akan Kujadikan seperti padang gurun yang tidak didiami orang. Aku, TUHAN, telah berbicara."

²²Behold, I will command, saith Jehovah, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.