Jeremiah 34

ירמיהו פרק ל״ד

Section: נביאים · נביאים אחרונים | Book: Jeremiah | Chapter: 34 of 52 | Day: 247 of 742

Date: October 16, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 34 brings us back from the soaring consolations of the Book of Comfort to the hard ground of the siege. The four preceding chapters spoke of a distant day when the voice of bridegroom and bride would return to Yerushalayim; this chapter speaks of the present, when Nevuchadnetzar king of Bavel and all his army, together with all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples (וכל העמים), are fighting against Yerushalayim and all her cities. Metzudat David notes that the last phrase means that other nations, not only the subjects of Bavel, came to his aid, and that ‘her cities’ refers to the towns surrounding the capital. The chapter contains two distinct prophecies, each introduced by its own heading. The first (verses 1 through 7) is a personal word to King Tzidkiyahu. The second (verses 8 through 22) is an indictment of the princes and people of Yerushalayim for a single act of breathtaking bad faith: the release of their Hebrew slaves and its swift reversal. Together they form a portrait of a city in its final months, and of a society that could perform repentance under pressure but could not sustain it once the pressure lifted.

The first oracle is stark. Yirmiyahu is sent to tell Tzidkiyahu that God is giving this city into the hand of the king of Bavel, who will burn it with fire, and that the king himself will not escape. Metzudat David reads the instruction ‘and say to him’ (ואמרת אליו) as meaning to him alone, with no one else present while the prophet speaks. Tzidkiyahu will be seized, his eyes will see the eyes of the king of Bavel, his mouth will speak with his mouth, and he will go to Bavel. Every detail was fulfilled with terrible precision, as chapter 39 and II Melachim 25 record: the king fled by night, was overtaken in the plains of Yericho, and was brought before Nevuchadnetzar at Rivlah, where his sons were slaughtered before his eyes and his eyes were then put out. Yet the oracle does not end in unrelieved doom. Hear the word of the LORD, Tzidkiyahu: you will not die by the sword; you will die in peace (בשלום תמות). Radak hears in the opening ‘but’ the note of comfort: even though you will go into exile, take consolation in this, that you will not die by the sword. Metzudat David adds that Nevuchadnetzar himself will not put him to death.

What does it mean that a blinded captive king will die ‘in peace’? Radak answers directly: although his eyes were put out, since he will not die by the sword but on his bed, and they will accord him the honor given to kings, that is called peace. Rashi, Radak and Metzudat David all bring the teaching of Chazal (Moed Katan 28b) that Nevuchadnetzar died in Tzidkiyahu’s lifetime. Rashi fills in the story: all the days of Nevuchadnetzar his prisoners were never released, and when he died Tzidkiyahu came out of prison, died the next day, and was buried with honor. The verse describes that honor: as there were burnings for your fathers, the former kings, so they will burn for you, and they will lament for you, ‘alas, lord’ (הוי אדון). Rashi and Metzudat David explain that it was the custom to burn the bier and personal utensils of a king, and Metzudat David cites the burnings made for Asa in Divrei HaYamim II 16. Radak offers both that reading and the plain meaning that spices and perfumes were burned on the bier, as was done for Asa. The final words, for I have spoken the word (כי דבר אני דברתי), are read by Radak and Metzudat David as a seal of certainty: because God has spoken it, it will surely come to pass. There is a quiet theological point here. Tzidkiyahu is the weak, vacillating king who imprisoned Yirmiyahu and never found the courage to surrender, yet God’s word to him contains a measure of mercy, and the dignity of his death is guaranteed even as the dignity of his reign collapses.

Verse 7 offers one of the most vivid historical snapshots in the book: the army of the king of Bavel was fighting against Yerushalayim and against all the remaining cities of Yehudah, against Lachish and against Azekah, for these alone were left of the cities of Yehudah as fortified cities. Metzudat David explains ‘the remaining’ as those not yet conquered, since all the others had already been taken and their fortifications destroyed. The picture is of a kingdom reduced to three strongholds. Ostraca recovered from the gatehouse of Lachish, written by a field officer to his commander in these very months, preserve a striking echo of the verse: the writer reports that his men are watching for the fire signals of Lachish, for they can no longer see Azekah. The prophet and the archaeologist describe the same contracting circle of light.

The second prophecy turns to the slave release. Under the pressure of the siege, Tzidkiyahu made a covenant with all the people in Yerushalayim to proclaim liberty (לקרא להם דרור) for every Hebrew slave, male and female, so that no one would hold a fellow Jew in bondage. Rashi and Radak, following Seder Olam, date the covenant to the seventh year of Tzidkiyahu, connecting it with the elders who came to inquire of Yechezkel in that year (Yechezkel 20:1). Rashi records their question, whether the slave of a kohen whom his master had sold may still eat terumah, and explains its subtext: they were looking for a way to argue that they should not be punished for taking their slaves back. Radak and Metzudat David both note the inverted syntax of verse 9, which they read as ‘that no man should make a Jew, his brother, serve him,’ and Metzudat David adds that the intent was to restore the law of the Torah, release after six years of service. The princes and the people agreed and set the slaves free. Then they turned back (וישובו) and forcibly re-enslaved them. Metzudat David explains that they regretted their decision and seized the slaves by force. Chapter 37 and Rashi on verse 21 here supply the occasion: the army of Pharaoh came out of Egypt, the Kasdim lifted the siege, and with the danger apparently past, the righteous gesture was revoked.

God’s response is built on a sequence of bitter wordplays on the root shuv (שוב, turn or return). You turned (ותשבו) today and did what is right in My eyes; then you turned back (ותשבו) and profaned My name; you brought back (ותשבו) the slaves you had freed. Metzudat David explains the first turning as genuine repentance and the profanation as the violation of the oath of the covenant. God reminds them of the original covenant made at the exodus from the house of bondage (מבית עבדים) — Metzudat David identifies it with the covenant at Sinai, which included all the commandments — that at the end of seven years each must release his Hebrew brother, and notes that their ancestors did not listen. The punishment is measure for measure in its sharpest form: you did not proclaim liberty, behold, I proclaim liberty for you (הנני קורא לכם דרור) to the sword, to pestilence and to famine. Rashi, Radak and Metzudat David all explain the image identically: God declares Himself no longer their master, so there is no one to protect them, and they become ownerless, free for the sword to take. Those who refused to release their slaves are themselves released, into abandonment.

The chapter then reveals a detail found nowhere else. The covenant had been sealed by cutting a calf in two and passing between its parts (העגל אשר כרתו לשנים). Radak and Metzudat David explain that this was the established form of covenant-making, as in the covenant between the pieces with Avraham (Bereshit 15), where a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between the halves. Rashi takes the verse in a darker direction: when they went back and re-enslaved their servants, they made a new covenant to rebel against God, cutting a calf in two to signify that whoever transgressed it should be cut and divided like the animal. On either reading, the self-curse comes home: the princes of Yehudah and Yerushalayim, the officers, the kohanim and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces will be given to their enemies, and their corpses will be food for the birds and beasts, unburied, Metzudat David explains, because there will be so many. Radak distinguishes the princes of Yehudah, from the towns outside the capital, from the officers (סריסים) of the king’s household. Tzidkiyahu himself will be handed over to the army of the king of Bavel that has gone up from you (העולים מעליכם) — Rashi, Radak and Metzudat David all connect this with the withdrawal before Pharaoh’s army in chapter 37. But the respite is an illusion. Behold, I command, says the LORD; Rashi explains that Pharaoh’s army will return to its land and the Kasdim will return, and Metzudat David that God will stir their hearts. They will fight against the city, take it and burn it, and the cities of Yehudah will be desolate. The chapter thus ends where it began, with fire, but between the two burnings it has shown why: a people that treated a covenant of freedom as an emergency measure, to be discarded when the danger seemed to pass, has itself become the slave released to its masters.

פרק ל״ד · Chapter 34

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה וּנְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֣ר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֣ל ׀ וְכׇל־חֵיל֡וֹ וְכׇל־מַמְלְכ֣וֹת אֶ֩רֶץ֩ מֶמְשֶׁ֨לֶת יָד֜וֹ וְכׇל־הָעַמִּ֗ים נִלְחָמִ֧ים עַל־יְרוּשָׁלַ֛͏ִם וְעַל־כׇּל־עָרֶ֖יהָ לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

The word that came to Jeremiah from GOD, when King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth and all the peoples under his sway, were waging war against Jerusalem and all its towns:

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

כֹּֽה־אָמַ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הָלֹךְ֙ וְאָ֣מַרְתָּ֔ אֶל־צִדְקִיָּ֖הוּ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה הִנְנִ֨י נֹתֵ֜ן אֶת־הָעִ֤יר הַזֹּאת֙ בְּיַ֣ד מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֔ל וּשְׂרָפָ֖הּ בָּאֵֽשׁ׃

English:

Thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Israel: Go speak to King Zedekiah of Judah, and say to him: “Thus said GOD: I am going to deliver this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it by fire.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וְאַתָּ֗ה לֹ֤א תִמָּלֵט֙ מִיָּד֔וֹ כִּ֚י תָּפֹ֣שׂ תִּתָּפֵ֔שׂ וּבְיָד֖וֹ תִּנָּתֵ֑ן וְֽ֠עֵינֶ֠יךָ אֶת־עֵינֵ֨י מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֜ל תִּרְאֶ֗ינָה וּפִ֛יהוּ אֶת־פִּ֥יךָ יְדַבֵּ֖ר וּבָבֶ֥ל תָּבֽוֹא׃

English:

And you will not escape from him; you will be captured and handed over to him. And you will see the king of Babylon face to face and speak to him in person; and you will be brought to Babylon.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

אַ֚ךְ שְׁמַ֣ע דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה צִדְקִיָּ֖הוּ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה כֹּֽה־אָמַ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ עָלֶ֔יךָ לֹ֥א תָמ֖וּת בֶּחָֽרֶב׃

English:

But hear the word of GOD, O King Zedekiah of Judah! Thus said GOD concerning you: You will not die by the sword.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

בְּשָׁל֣וֹם תָּמ֗וּת וּֽכְמִשְׂרְפ֣וֹת אֲ֠בוֹתֶ֠יךָ הַמְּלָכִ֨ים הָרִאשֹׁנִ֜ים אֲשֶׁר־הָי֣וּ לְפָנֶ֗יךָ כֵּ֚ן יִשְׂרְפוּ־לָ֔ךְ וְה֥וֹי אָד֖וֹן יִסְפְּדוּ־לָ֑ךְ כִּֽי־דָבָ֥ר אֲנִֽי־דִבַּ֖רְתִּי נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}         

English:

You will die a peaceful death; and as incense was burned for your ancestors, the earlier kings who preceded you, so they will burn incense for you, and they will lament for you ‘Ah, lord!’ For I Myself have made the promise—declares GOD.”

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיְדַבֵּר֙ יִרְמְיָ֣הוּ הַנָּבִ֔יא אֶל־צִדְקִיָּ֖הוּ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה אֵ֛ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

English:

The prophet Jeremiah spoke all these words to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem,

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וְחֵ֣יל מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֗ל נִלְחָמִים֙ עַל־יְר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם וְעַ֛ל כׇּל־עָרֵ֥י יְהוּדָ֖ה הַנּוֹתָר֑וֹת אֶל־לָכִישׁ֙ וְאֶל־עֲזֵקָ֔ה כִּ֣י הֵ֗נָּה נִשְׁאֲר֛וּ בְּעָרֵ֥י יְהוּדָ֖ה עָרֵ֥י מִבְצָֽר׃ {פ}

English:

when the army of the king of Babylon was waging war against Jerusalem and against the remaining towns of Judah—against Lachish and Azekah, for they were the only fortified towns of Judah that were left.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה אַחֲרֵ֡י כְּרֹת֩ הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ צִדְקִיָּ֜הוּ בְּרִ֗ית אֶת־כׇּל־הָעָם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בִּירוּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם לִקְרֹ֥א לָהֶ֖ם דְּרֽוֹר׃

English:

The word that came to Jeremiah from GOD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim a release among them—

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

לְ֠שַׁלַּ֠ח אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־עַבְדּ֞וֹ וְאִ֧ישׁ אֶת־שִׁפְחָת֛וֹ הָעִבְרִ֥י וְהָעִבְרִיָּ֖ה חׇפְשִׁ֑ים לְבִלְתִּ֧י עֲבׇד־בָּ֛ם בִּיהוּדִ֥י אָחִ֖יהוּ אִֽישׁ׃

English:

that everyone should set free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and that no one should keep their fellow Judean enslaved.

פסוק י׳ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ֩ כׇל־הַשָּׂרִ֨ים וְכׇל־הָעָ֜ם אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֣אוּ בַבְּרִ֗ית לְ֠שַׁלַּ֠ח אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־עַבְדּ֞וֹ וְאִ֤ישׁ אֶת־שִׁפְחָתוֹ֙ חׇפְשִׁ֔ים לְבִלְתִּ֥י עֲבׇד־בָּ֖ם ע֑וֹד וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֖וּ וַיְשַׁלֵּֽחוּ׃

English:

Everyone, officials and people, who had entered into the covenant agreed to set their male and female slaves free and not keep them enslaved any longer; they complied and let them go.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַיָּשׁ֙וּבוּ֙ אַחֲרֵי־כֵ֔ן וַיָּשִׁ֗בוּ אֶת־הָֽעֲבָדִים֙ וְאֶת־הַשְּׁפָח֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר שִׁלְּח֖וּ חׇפְשִׁ֑ים (ויכבישום) [וַֽיִּכְבְּשׁ֔וּם] לַעֲבָדִ֖ים וְלִשְׁפָחֽוֹת׃ {פ}

English:

But afterward they turned about and brought back the men and women they had set free, and forced them into slavery again.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֤י דְבַר־יְהֹוָה֙ אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֔הוּ מֵאֵ֥ת יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Then it was that the word of GOD came to Jeremiah from GOD:

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

כֹּה־אָמַ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אָנֹכִ֗י כָּרַ֤תִּֽי בְרִית֙ אֶת־אֲב֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם בְּי֨וֹם הוֹצִאִ֤י אוֹתָם֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם מִבֵּ֥ית עֲבָדִ֖ים לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage, saying:

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

מִקֵּ֣ץ שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֡ים תְּֽשַׁלְּח֡וּ אִישׁ֩ אֶת־אָחִ֨יו הָעִבְרִ֜י אֲשֶֽׁר־יִמָּכֵ֣ר לְךָ֗ וַעֲבָֽדְךָ֙ שֵׁ֣שׁ שָׁנִ֔ים וְשִׁלַּחְתּ֥וֹ חׇפְשִׁ֖י מֵעִמָּ֑ךְ וְלֹֽא־שָׁמְע֤וּ אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ אֵלַ֔י וְלֹ֥א הִטּ֖וּ אֶת־אׇזְנָֽם׃

English:

“In the seventh year each of you must let go any fellow Hebrew who may be sold to you; when they have served you six years, you must set them free.” But your ancestors would not obey Me or give ear.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַתָּשֻׁ֨בוּ אַתֶּ֜ם הַיּ֗וֹם וַתַּעֲשׂ֤וּ אֶת־הַיָּשָׁר֙ בְּעֵינַ֔י לִקְרֹ֥א דְר֖וֹר אִ֣ישׁ לְרֵעֵ֑הוּ וַתִּכְרְת֤וּ בְרִית֙ לְפָנַ֔י בַּבַּ֕יִת אֲשֶׁר־נִקְרָ֥א שְׁמִ֖י עָלָֽיו׃

English:

Lately you turned about and did what is proper in My sight, and all of you proclaimed a release to your compatriots; and you made a covenant accordingly before Me in the House that bears My name.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וַתָּשֻׁ֙בוּ֙ וַתְּחַלְּל֣וּ אֶת־שְׁמִ֔י וַתָּשִׁ֗בוּ אִ֤ישׁ אֶת־עַבְדּוֹ֙ וְאִ֣ישׁ אֶת־שִׁפְחָת֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־שִׁלַּחְתֶּ֥ם חׇפְשִׁ֖ים לְנַפְשָׁ֑ם וַתִּכְבְּשׁ֣וּ אֹתָ֔ם לִֽהְי֣וֹת לָכֶ֔ם לַעֲבָדִ֖ים וְלִשְׁפָחֽוֹת׃ {ס}         

English:

But now you have turned back and have profaned My name; each of you has brought back the men and women whom you had given their freedom, and forced them to be your slaves again.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

לָכֵן֮ כֹּה־אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָה֒ אַתֶּם֙ לֹא־שְׁמַעְתֶּ֣ם אֵלַ֔י לִקְרֹ֣א דְר֔וֹר אִ֥ישׁ לְאָחִ֖יו וְאִ֣ישׁ לְרֵעֵ֑הוּ הִנְנִ֣י קֹרֵא֩ לָכֶ֨ם דְּר֜וֹר נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֗ה אֶל־הַחֶ֙רֶב֙ אֶל־הַדֶּ֣בֶר וְאֶל־הָרָעָ֔ב וְנָתַתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ (לזועה) [לְזַעֲוָ֔ה] לְכֹ֖ל מַמְלְכ֥וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

English:

Assuredly, thus said GOD: You would not obey Me and proclaim a release, each to your kin and neighbor. Lo! I proclaim your release—declares GOD—to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine; and I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וְנָתַתִּ֣י אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים הָעֹֽבְרִים֙ אֶת־בְּרִתִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־הֵקִ֙ימוּ֙ אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֣י הַבְּרִ֔ית אֲשֶׁ֥ר כָּרְת֖וּ לְפָנָ֑י הָעֵ֙גֶל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר כָּרְת֣וּ לִשְׁנַ֔יִם וַיַּעַבְר֖וּ בֵּ֥ין בְּתָרָֽיו׃

English:

I will make the parties who violated My covenant, who did not fulfill the terms of the covenant that they made before Me, [like] the calf that they cut in two so as to pass between the halves:

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

שָׂרֵ֨י יְהוּדָ֜ה וְשָׂרֵ֣י יְרוּשָׁלַ֗͏ִם הַסָּֽרִסִים֙ וְהַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים וְכֹ֖ל עַ֣ם הָאָ֑רֶץ הָעֹ֣בְרִ֔ים בֵּ֖ין בִּתְרֵ֥י הָעֵֽגֶל׃

English:

The officers of Judah and Jerusalem, the officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the halves of the calf

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וְנָתַתִּ֤י אוֹתָם֙ בְּיַ֣ד אֹֽיְבֵיהֶ֔ם וּבְיַ֖ד מְבַקְשֵׁ֣י נַפְשָׁ֑ם וְהָיְתָ֤ה נִבְלָתָם֙ לְמַֽאֲכָ֔ל לְע֥וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּלְבֶהֱמַ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

English:

shall be handed over to their enemies, to those who seek to kill them. Their carcasses shall become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וְאֶת־צִדְקִיָּ֨הוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֜ה וְאֶת־שָׂרָ֗יו אֶתֵּן֙ בְּיַ֣ד אֹֽיְבֵיהֶ֔ם וּבְיַ֖ד מְבַקְשֵׁ֣י נַפְשָׁ֑ם וּבְיַ֗ד חֵ֚יל מֶ֣לֶךְ בָּבֶ֔ל הָעֹלִ֖ים מֵעֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officers to their enemies, who seek to kill them—to the army of the king of Babylon that has withdrawn from you.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

הִנְנִ֨י מְצַוֶּ֜ה נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֗ה וַהֲשִׁ֨בֹתִ֜ים אֶל־הָעִ֤יר הַזֹּאת֙ וְנִלְחֲמ֣וּ עָלֶ֔יהָ וּלְכָד֖וּהָ וּשְׂרָפֻ֣הָ בָאֵ֑שׁ וְאֶת־עָרֵ֧י יְהוּדָ֛ה אֶתֵּ֥ן שְׁמָמָ֖ה מֵאֵ֥ין יֹשֵֽׁב׃ {פ}

English:

I hereby give the command—declares GOD—by which I will bring them back against this city. They shall attack it and capture it, and burn it down. I will make the towns of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

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