Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 34:4

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Treacherous slave-owners (34:1-22)

Again Jeremiah tells King Zedekiah that Jerusalem will fall to the Babylonians. Zedekiah himself will be taken to Babylon but will not be executed. When he eventually dies he will be given a fitting royal funeral (34:1-7).
Earlier, when the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem, Zedekiah issued a command that slave-owners were to release all their Hebrew slaves. He no doubt hoped that his action would win God’s favour, and he probably thought it had succeeded when an army from Egypt came to Jerusalem’s aid and the Babylonians temporarily withdrew (v. 21; see also 37:5). Having gained the relief from siege they were looking for, the slave-owners then recaptured their slaves (8-11).

Through Jeremiah God now announces his judgment on the actions of the slave-owners. He approves of their releasing the slaves, for this is in keeping with the law he gave to Israel in the time of Moses (12-15; cf. Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy 15:12-14). But by recapturing the slaves, they have shown their contempt for God and his law (16).

Besides disregarding the law of God, the slave-owners have broken their promise (their covenant). God will therefore punish them according to the oath that people swear when making a covenant. (The ancient practice was that the two parties to a covenant walked between the pieces of a slaughtered animal and called down the animal’s fate upon themselves if they broke the covenant.) In the case of the treacherous slave-owners of Jerusalem, this means that they will now be slaughtered (17-20). God will recall the Babylonian armies to complete their conquest of Jerusalem (21-22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE PROPHECY REGARDING ZEDEKIAH

"The 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, Thus 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: and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shall 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. Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah: Thus saith Jehovah concerning thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword; thou 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."

"All the kingdoms of the earth" This is a reference to the composite nature of Nebuchadnezzar's army, which was made up of numerous detachments from the many nations that had submitted to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar as the suzerain overlord of all those countries had the right to demand troops of all of them to aid in his fight against enemies. He even had that right over Zedekiah who had at this juncture of events rebelled against him.

"And against all the cities thereof" This refers to the surrounding cities in Palestine which were fortified towns and would of necessity be captured prior to the assault against Jerusalem the major stronghold. Lachish and Azekah (Jeremiah 34:7) were the last two of these to hold out against the Chaldeans.

"Thou shalt not escape out of his hand" This meant that Zedekiah would most certainly he required to give an account to Nebuchadnezzar his overlord, with whom he had negotiated a covenant of obedience, in all probability "cutting a covenant" after the pattern of that mentioned in Jeremiah 34:18, below, and entailing the most terrible consequences upon its violation by the vassal.

"Yet… thou shalt not die by the sword… but in peace" The very word "yet" in this passage seems to hold out a certain hope for Zedekiah, always contingent, of course, (See Jeremiah 18:7-10) upon his obedience to God's command to deliver the city at once into the hands of his overlord. Whether or not this is actually the true understanding of this place does not appear absolutely certain to this writer; but Barnes, and many others, hold this view.

The city was doomed and Zedekiah's capture was assured, but he was still in a position to procure good terms; and the prophet here laid before him the alternative; but Zedekiah with all the obstinacy of a weak man chose to continue the war, and lost: (1) the kingdom; (2) his eyesight; and (3) his liberty.Barnes' Notes (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House), p. 232.

This view, in effect, denies that the prophecy here was fulfilled, due to Zedekiah's violation of the condition implied in the prophecy itself. Ash, Dummelow, and others concur with Barnes in this understanding. Dummelow submits as proof of this interpretation that, "Although the key condition of Zedekiah's surrender is omitted in this chapter, it is emphatically stated in Jeremiah 38:17."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 474. We accept this understanding of the place and note that, in addition to the benefits to Zedekiah which were conditionally promised here, the lives of his sons would also have been spared if he had obeyed the word of the Lord (Jeremiah 38:17 ff).

"Thou shalt die in peace" How could one die in peace, after his sons were slain before him, and after he had been blinded, enslaved, and deported to Babylon where he died? We agree with Matthew Henry that one may "die in peace, even though in prison,"Matthew Henry's Commentary, p. 624. and also that to die in peace might have referred to his attaining "peace with God," as did Manasseh at the end of his life. Others have also suggested that, when contrasted with the death of Jehoiachim who died unmourned, receiving the burial of an ass, Zedekiah did indeed "die in peace." If so, then this part of the prophecy was unconditional.

"With the burnings of thy fathers, etc.," The Jews never had a custom of cremation, and this refers to the lighting of bonfires upon the death of a beloved monarch, spices also being added to the burning faggots in such lamentations. The expression "Ah Lord" was the customary exclamation upon the death of a king. Barnes and others thought this promise of that kind of a burial for Zedekiah was a pledge (if he had obeyed the Lord) of a successful tenure on the throne of Jerusalem as a vassal of Babylon. However, it is by no means impossible that the captive Jews in Babylon would have been allowed thus to honor their deceased monarch. Still, we favor the view of this whole prophecy as conditional and the conclusion that it was not fulfilled because Zedekiah violated the conditions in it.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

Here Jeremiah adds some comfort, even that Zedekiah himself would not be slain by the sword, but that he would die in his bed, and, as they commonly say, yield to his fate. It was indeed some mitigation of punishment, that God extended his life and suffered him not to be immediately smitten with the sword. And yet if we consider all circumstances, it would have been a lighter evil at once to be put to death, than to prolong life on the condition of being doomed to pine away in constant misery. When the eyes are pulled out, we know that the principal part of life is lost. When, therefore, this punishment was inflicted on Zedekiah, was not death desirable? And then he was not only deprived of his royal dignity, but was bereaved also of all his offspring, and was afterwards bound with chains. We hence see that what remained to him was not so much an object of desire, he might have preferred ten times or a hundred times to die. God, however, designed it as a favor, that he was not smitten with the sword.

A question may be here raised, Ought violent death to be so much dreaded? We indeed know that some heathens have wished it. They tell us of Julius Caesar, that the day before he was killed, he disputed at supper what death was the best, and that he deemed it the easiest death (εὐθανασίαν) when one is suddenly deprived of life, — the very thing which happened to him the day after. Thus he seemed to have gained his wish, for he had said, that it was a happy kind of death to be suddenly extinguished. There is, however, no doubt but that natural death is always more easy to be borne, when other things, as they say, are equal; for the feeling of nature is this, that men always dread a bloody death, and it is regarded a monstrous thing when human blood is shed; but when any one dies quietly through disease, as it is a common thing, we do not feel so much horror. Then time is granted to the sick, to think of God’s hand, to reflect on the hope of a better life, and also to flee to God’s mercy, which cannot be done in a violent death. When, therefore, all these are duly weighed, it ought not to be deemed strange, that God, willing to mitigate the punishment of Zedekiah, should say, Thou shaft not die by the sword, but thou shall die in peace To die in peace is to die a natural death, when no violence is used, but when God hhnself calls men, as though he stretched forth his hand to them. It is indeed certain, that it is much better for some to be slain by the sword, than to pine away through disease: for we see that many are either seized with frenzy on their bed, or rage against God, or remain obstinate: there are, in short, dreadful examples, which daily occur, where the Spirit of God does not work nor rule. For there is then no tenderness in man, especially when he has the fear of death; he then kindles up as it were into rage against God. But, on the other hand, many who are brought into affliction, acknowledge themselves to be justly condemned, and at the same time acknowledge the punishment inflicted to be medicine, in order that they may obtain mercy before God. To many, then, it is better to die a violent death than to die in peace; but this happens through the fault of men: at the same time, natural death, as I have said, justly deserves to be much preferred to a violent and bloody death, and I have briefly stated the reasons. The subject might indeed be more fully handled, but it is enough to touch shortly on the chief point as the passage requires.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 34

Now we come to a chronologically new set of prophecies, and this is one that Zedekiah threw him in jail for back in the thirty-first chapter, thirty-second chapter.

The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire ( Jeremiah 34:1-2 ):

It made the king mad. Threw Jeremiah in jail.

And 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 ( Jeremiah 34:3 ).

And this is what Zedekiah referred to, that's why he threw him in the prison.

Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah the king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword; But you will die in peace: and with the burnings for you, as they did to the former kings which were before you, they will burn incense for thee; for they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD. Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defensed cities remained in the cities of Judah. This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; [so Zedekiah proclaimed] That all of them were to set their servants free, if he had a servant that was a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, that they were to set them free; that no one should have them for their servants, that is, a Jew who is his brother. Now when all the princes, and all the people, had entered into the covenant, they heard every one that they should let his manservant, and every maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more; then they obeyed, and let them go. But afterward they took them right back again. Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, 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 bondmen, saying, At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother who is a Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee for six years, you shall let him go free [in the seventh year]: but your fathers did not hearken to me, neither inclined their ear. And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty ( Jeremiah 34:4-15 )

This was right. They haven't been obeying this, but you were right when you did it, proclaiming liberty.

every man to his neighbor; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: But you turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, which he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and you brought them back into slavery, to be your servants and your handmaids. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, and to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in two, and passed between the parts thereof, The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf ( Jeremiah 34:15-19 );

They did that in the covenant. They cut the calf and passed between it, which means we make the covenant. But they have broken it.

I 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 meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. And 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, which are gone up from you. Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, 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 desolate [without a habitation] without any inhabitants ( Jeremiah 34:20-22 ).

So this is because of the broken covenant. They did the right thing setting the slaves free because that was under the law. You're not to have a Hebrew as your slave. If you do have one, he serves for six years, the seventh year he goes free. And that's what we referred to earlier. Man has been under the bondage of Satan for 6,000 years. We're about ready to go free in the millennial reign of Christ. Satan will be bound for a thousand years.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The announcement of Zedekiah’s fate 34:1-7

"The Book of Consolation has ended, and Jeremiah 34:1 confronts its readers with the full force of the invading imperial army. The destruction of Jerusalem and the remainder of Judah seems inevitable (Jeremiah 34:3) because the LORD has made Nebuchadrezzar ruler over all the nations and because burning with fire is a fitting consequence for their deeds. . . .

"This unit serves to direct the readers’ attention to the issue of obedience to the LORD’s word as it is explored in Jeremiah 34:8-22 and chaps. 35-36." [Note: Ibid., p. 181.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Zedekiah would not die by the sword, however, but in peace. Since Zedekiah died in prison in Babylon, some commentators believed Jeremiah’s prophecy of his peaceful death was conditioned on his surrendering to the Babylonians. Probably the promise was not conditional and contrasted a death in battle with a death not in battle, which would have been peaceful by comparison.

The people of Judah would lament Zedekiah’s death by burning spices, a traditional way of expressing grief (cf. Jeremiah 22:18; 2 Chronicles 16:14; 2 Chronicles 21:19). Yahweh promised this to the king. The Babylonians evidently permitted the Judeans in exile to mourn the death of their king in this way.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah,.... Which, though a king, he ought to hearken to; and, besides, what follows was for comfort, being a mitigation of his sentence, and containing in it mercy, as well as judgment:

thus saith the Lord of thee, thou shalt not die by the sword: of the king of Babylon; or a violent death; and therefore fear not to deliver up thyself and city into his hands; which he might be twelfth to do, fearing he would put him to death immediately.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,   2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:   3 And 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.   4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:   5 But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.   6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,   7 When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

      This prophecy concerning Zedekiah was delivered to Jeremiah, and by him to the parties concerned, before he was shut up in the prison, for we find this prediction here made the ground of his commitment, as appears by the recital of some passages out of it, Jeremiah 32:4; Jeremiah 32:4. Observe,

      I. The time when this message was sent to Zedekiah; it was when the king of Babylon, with all his forces, some out of all the kingdoms of the earth that were within his jurisdiction, fought against Jerusalem and the cities thereof (Jeremiah 34:1; Jeremiah 34:1), designing to destroy them, having often plundered them. The cities that now remained, and yet held out, are named (Jeremiah 34:7; Jeremiah 34:7), Lachish and Azekah. This intimates that things were now brought to the last extremity, and yet Zedekiah obstinately stood it out, his heart being hardened to his destruction.

      II. The message itself that was sent to him. 1. Here is a threatening of wrath. He is told that again which he had been often told before, that the city shall be taken by the Chaldeans and burnt with fire (Jeremiah 34:2; Jeremiah 34:2), that he shall himself fall into the enemy's hands, shall be made a prisoner, shall be brought before that furious prince Nebuchadnezzar, and be carried away captive into Babylon (Jeremiah 34:3; Jeremiah 34:3); yet Ezekiel prophesied that he should not see Babylon; nor did he, for his eyes were put out, Ezekiel 12:13. This Zedekiah brought upon himself from God by his other sins and from Nebuchadnezzar by breaking his faith with him. 2. Here is a mixture of mercy. He shall die a captive, but he shall not die by the sword he shall die a natural death (Jeremiah 34:4; Jeremiah 34:4); he shall end his days with some comfort, shall die in peace,Jeremiah 34:5; Jeremiah 34:5. He never had been one of the worst of the kings, but we are willing to hope that what evil he had done in the sight of the Lord he repented of in his captivity, as Manasseh had done, and it was forgiven to him; and, God being reconciled to him, he might truly be said to die in peace, Note, A man may die in a prison and yet die in peace. Nay, he shall end his days with some reputation, more than one would expect, all things considered. He shall be buried with the burnings of his fathers, that is, with the respect usually shown to their kings, especially those that had done good in Israel. It seems, in his captivity he had conducted himself so well towards his own people that they were willing to do him this honour, and towards Nebuchadnezzar that he suffered it to be done. If Zedekiah had continued in his prosperity, perhaps he would have grown worse and would have departed at last without being desired; but his afflictions wrought such a change in him that his death was looked upon as a great loss. It is better to live and die penitent in a prison than to live and die impenitent in a palace. They will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! an honour which his brother Jehoiakim had not, Jeremiah 22:18; Jeremiah 22:18. The Jews say that they lamented thus over him, Alas! Zedekiah is dead, who drank the dregs of all the ages that went before him, that is, who suffered for the sins of his ancestors, the measure of iniquity being filled up in his days. They shall thus lament him, saith the Lord, for I have pronounced the word; and what God hath spoken shall without fail be made good.

      III. Jeremiah's faithfulness in delivering this message. Though he knew it would be ungrateful to the king, and might prove, as indeed it did, dangerous to himself (for he was imprisoned for it), yet he spoke all these words to Zedekiah,Jeremiah 34:6; Jeremiah 34:6. It is a mercy to great men to have those about them that will deal faithfully with them, and tell them the evil consequences of their evil courses, that they may reform and live.