Jeremiah 34:11

THE MESSAGE

But a little while later, they reneged on the covenant, broke their promise and forced their former slaves to become slaves again.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Afterward, however, they changed their minds and took back their male and female slaves they had let go free and forced them to become slaves again.

Hebrew Names Version
but 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.

King James Version
But afterward 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.

English Standard Version
But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.

New American Standard Bible
But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

New Century Version
But after that, the people who had slaves changed their minds. So they took back the people they had set free and made them slaves again.

Amplified Bible
But afterward they backed out [of the covenant] and made the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free return [to them], and brought the male servants and the female servants again into servitude.

World English Bible
but 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.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But afterwarde they repented and caused the seruants and the handmayds, whom they had let go free, to returne, and helde them in subiection as seruants and handmayds.

Legacy Standard Bible
But 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.

Berean Standard Bible
but later they changed their minds and took back the menservants and maidservants they had freed, and they forced them to become slaves again.

Contemporary English Version
But those slave owners changed their minds and forced their former slaves back into slavery.

Complete Jewish Bible
But afterwards, they changed their minds; they made the male and female slaves, whom they had freed, return; and they brought them back into subjection as slaves.

Darby Translation
But afterwards they turned, and caused the bondmen and the bondmaids whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for bondmen and for bondmaids.

Easy-to-Read Version
But after that, the people who had slaves changed their minds. So they took the people they had set free and made them slaves again.

George Lamsa Translation
But afterward they changed their minds, and caused to return both the male and female servants whom they had let go free, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

Good News Translation
but later they changed their minds, took them back, and forced them to become slaves again.

Lexham English Bible
But afterward they turned back and they brought back the male slaves and the female slaves whom they had let go free, and they subdued them as male slaves and female slaves.

Literal Translation
But afterward they turned and caused to return the male slaves and the female slaves whom they sent away. And they subjected them for male slaves and for female slaves.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But afterwarde they repented, & toke agayne the seruauntes and handemaydens, whom they had letten go fre, and so made them bonde agayne.

American Standard Version
but 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.

Bible in Basic English
But later, they took back again the servants and the servant-girls whom they had let go free, and put them again under the yoke as servants and servant-girls.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
but 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;

King James Version (1611)
But afterwards they turned, and caused the seruants and the handmaids whom they had let goe free, to returne, and brought them into subiection for seruants and for handmaids.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But afterwarde they repented, and toke agayne the seruauntes and handmaydens whom they had let go free, and so made them bonde agayne.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But the nation which shall put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, I will even leave it upon its land, and it shall serve him, and dwell in it.

English Revised Version
but 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:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and thei weren turned aftirward, and drowen ayen her seruauntis, and handmaidis, whiche thei hadden left fre, and thei maden suget in to seruauntis, and in to seruauntessis.

Update Bible Version
but afterward they turned, and caused the male slaves and the female slaves, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for male slaves and for female slaves.

Webster's Bible Translation
But afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had liberated, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

New English Translation
But later they had changed their minds. They had taken back their male and female slaves that they had freed and forced them to be slaves again.

New King James Version
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.

New Living Translation
but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again.

New Life Bible
But after this they turned around and took back the male and female servants whom they had set free. They brought them back and made them work for them again as male and female servants.

New Revised Standard
But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them again into subjection as slaves.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
howbeit they turned after that, and brought back the servants and the handmaids whom they had let go, free, and brought them into subjection as servants and as handmaids,

Douay-Rheims Bible
But afterwards they turned: and brought back again their servants and their handmaids, whom they had let go free, and brought them into subjection as menservants and maidservants.

Revised Standard Version
But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.

Young's Literal Translation
and they turn afterwards, and cause the men-servants and the maid-servants to return, whom they had sent forth free, and they subdue them for men-servants and for maid-servants.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection for male servants and for female servants.

Contextual Overview

⁸ God delivered a Message to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people of Jerusalem to decree freedom to the slaves who were Hebrews, both men and women. The covenant stipulated that no one in Judah would own a fellow Jew as a slave. All the leaders and people who had signed the covenant set free the slaves, men and women alike. ¹¹ But a little while later, they reneged on the covenant, broke their promise and forced their former slaves to become slaves again. ¹²Then Jeremiah received this Message from God : " God , the God of Israel, says, ‘I made a covenant with your ancestors when I delivered them out of their slavery in Egypt. At the time I made it clear: "At the end of seven years, each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has had to sell himself to you. After he has served six years, set him free." But your ancestors totally ignored me. ¹⁵"‘And now, you—what have you done? First you turned back to the right way and did the right thing, decreeing freedom for your brothers and sisters—and you made it official in a solemn covenant in my Temple. And then you turned right around and broke your word, making a mockery of both me and the covenant, and made them all slaves again, these men and women you'd just set free. You forced them back into slavery. ¹⁷"‘So here is what I, God , have to say: You have not obeyed me and set your brothers and sisters free. Here is what I'm going to do: I'm going to set you free— God 's Decree—free to get killed in war or by disease or by starvation. I'll make you a spectacle of horror. People all over the world will take one look at you and shudder. Everyone who violated my covenant, who didn't do what was solemnly promised in the covenant ceremony when they split the young bull into two halves and walked between them, all those people that day who walked between the two halves of the bull—leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, palace officials, priests, and all the rest of the people—I'm handing the lot of them over to their enemies who are out to kill them. Their dead bodies will be carrion food for vultures and stray dogs. ²¹"‘As for Zedekiah king of Judah and his palace staff, I'll also hand them over to their enemies, who are out to kill them. The army of the king of Babylon has pulled back for a time, but not for long, for I'm going to issue orders that will bring them back to this city. They'll attack and take it and burn it to the ground. The surrounding cities of Judah will fare no better. I'll turn them into ghost towns, unlivable and unlived in.'" God 's Decree.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Jeremiah 34:21, Jeremiah 37:5, Exodus 8:8, Exodus 8:15, Exodus 9:28, Exodus 9:34, Exodus 9:35, Exodus 10:17-20, Exodus 14:3-9, 1 Samuel 19:6-11, 1 Samuel 24:19, 1 Samuel 26:21, Psalms 36:3, Psalms 78:34-36, Psalms 125:5, Proverbs 26:11, Ecclesiastes 8:11, Hosea 6:4, Hosea 7:16, Zephaniah 1:6, Matthew 12:43-45, Romans 2:4, Romans 2:5, 2 Peter 2:20-22

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 34:15 - in proclaiming Jeremiah 34:16 - ye turned

Cross-References

Genesis 18:3
He said, "Master, if it please you, stop for a while with your servant. I'll get some water so you can wash your feet. Rest under this tree. I'll get some food to refresh you on your way, since your travels have brought you across my path." They said, "Certainly. Go ahead."

Genesis 33:15
Esau said, "Let me at least lend you some of my men." "There's no need," said Jacob. "Your generous welcome is all I need or want."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But afterwards they turned,.... From the law of God, and their own agreement, and returned to their former usage of their servants; they changed their minds and measures. This seems to be done, when the king of Babylon, hearing the king of Egypt was coming to break up the siege of Jerusalem, quitted it, and went forth to meet him, as appears from Jeremiah 34:21; the Jews now finding themselves at liberty, and out of danger as they imagined, wickedly rebelled against the law of God; perfidiously broke their own covenant, repenting of what they had done, and returned to their former ways of oppression and cruelty; which shows they were not hearty and sincere in their covenant:

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; which was done by force, contrary to the will of their servants and handmaids, and in violation of the law of God, and their own solemn oath and covenant.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

It is usual with commentators to say that, the laws dealing with the emancipation of the Hebrew slaves, as also that of the land resting during the sabbatical year, were not observed. The narrative teaches us the exact contrary. The manumission of the slaves on the present occasion was the spontaneous act of Zedekiah and the people. They knew of the law, and acknowledged its obligation. The observance of it was, no doubt, lax: the majority let their own selfish interests prevail; but the minority made might give way to right, and Zedekiah supported their efforts though only in a weak way.

Early in January, in the ninth year of Zedekiah, the Chaldaean army approached Jerusalem. The people made a covenant with the king, who appears as the abettor of the measure, to let their slaves go free. Possibly patriotism had its share in this: and as Jerusalem was strongly fortified, all classes possibly hoped that if the slaves were manumitted, they too would labor with a more hearty good-will in resisting the enemy. In the summer of the same year the Egyptians advanced to the rescue, and Nebuchadnezzar withdrew to meet their attack. The Jews with a strange levity, which sets them before us in a most despicable light, at once forced the manumitted slaves back into bondage. With noble indignation Jeremiah rebukes them for their treachery, assures them that the Chaldaean army will return, and warns them of the certainty of the punishment which they so richly merited.

Jeremiah 34:8

As the Chaldaean army swept over the country the wealthier classes would all flee to Jerusalem, taking with them their households. And as the Mosaic Law was probably more carefully kept there than in the country, the presence in these families of slaves who had grown grey in service may have given offence to the stricter classes at the capital.

To proclaim liberty unto them - The words are those of the proclamation of the year of jubile to the people, whereupon it became their duty to set their slaves free.

Jeremiah 34:9

Should serve himself of them - Should make them serve him (see Jeremiah 25:14).

Jeremiah 34:11

They turned, and caused ... to return - But afterward they again made the slaves return.

Jeremiah 34:13

The house of bondmen - The miserable prison in which, after being worked in the fields all day in gangs, the slaves were shut up at night.

Jeremiah 34:16

At their pleasure - literally, for themselves.

Jeremiah 34:17

I will make you to be removed into - “I will cause you to be a terror unto.” Men would shudder at them.

Jeremiah 34:18

The words ... - The Jews spoke of “cutting” a covenant, because the contracting parties cut a calf in twain and passed between the pieces. Thus cutting a covenant and cutting a calf in twain, meant the same thing.

Jeremiah 34:21

Which are gone up from you - i. e., which have departed for the present, and have raised the siege.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 34:11. But afterward they turned — They had agreed to manumit them at the end of the seventh year; but when the seventh year was ended, they recalled their engagement, and detained their servants. This, I believe, is what is here meant.