Jeremiah 34:8–16

⁸The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after King Zedekiah had ^acut a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to ^bproclaim ¹release to them:

⁹that each man should let his male slave go free and each man his female slave, a ^aHebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that ^bno one should enslave them, each being a Jew, his brother.

¹⁰And all the ^aofficials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should let his male slave go free and each man his female slave, so that no one should enslave them any longer; they obeyed and let them go free.

¹¹But afterwards they turned around and returned to themselves the male slaves and the female slaves, whom they had let go as free, and subdued them to be male slaves and female slaves.

¹²Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,

¹³“Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I ^acut a covenant with your fathers in the day that I ^bbrought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, saying,

¹⁴“^aAt the end of seven years each of you shall let his Hebrew brother go who ¹has been sold to you and has served you six years, and you shall let him go to be free from you; but your fathers ^bdid not obey Me or incline their ear to Me.

¹⁵“Although recently you had turned and ^adone what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming ¹release to his neighbor, and you had ^bcut a covenant before Me ^cin the house which is called by My name.

¹⁶“Yet you ^aturned and ^bprofaned My name, and each man ¹returned to themselves his male slave and each man his female slave whom you had let go as free according to their desire, and you subdued them to be your male slaves and female slaves.” ’