Zedekiah Is Warned
1Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and all his armies were fighting against Jerusalem. They were also fighting against all the towns around it. All the kingdoms and nations Nebuchadnezzar ruled over were helping him. At that time a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord said, 2“I am the Lord, the God of Israel. Go to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. Tell him, ‘The Lord says, “I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon. He will burn it down. 3You will not escape from his power. You will certainly be captured. You will be handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes. He will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.
4“ ‘ “But listen to the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. I say that you will not be killed by a sword. 5You will die in a peaceful way. People made fires to honor the kings who died before you. In the same way, they will make a fire in your honor. They will mourn for you. They will say, ‘My poor master!’ I myself make this promise,” announces the Lord.’ ”
6Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to King Zedekiah in Jerusalem. 7At that time Nebuchadnezzar’s armies were fighting against Jerusalem. They were also fighting against Lachish and Azekah. These two cities were still holding out. They were the only cities left in Judah that had high walls around them.
The People Set Their Slaves Free
8A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem. He had told them to set their Hebrew slaves free. 9All of them had to do this. That applied to male and female slaves alike. No one was allowed to hold another Hebrew as a slave. 10So all the officials and people entered into this covenant. They agreed to set their male and female slaves free. They agreed not to hold them as slaves anymore. Instead, they set them free. 11But later they changed their minds. They took back the people they had set free. They made them slaves again.
12Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. 13The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, “I made a covenant with your people of long ago. I brought them out of Egypt. That is the land where they were slaves. I said, 14‘Every seventh year you must set your people free. Each of you must set free all the Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. Let them serve you for six years. Then you must let them go free.’ (Deuteronomy 15:12) But your people of long ago did not listen to me. They did not pay any attention to me. 15Recently you turned away from your sins. You did what is right in my eyes. Each of you set your Hebrew slaves free. You even made a covenant in front of me. You did it in the house where I have put my Name. 16But now you have turned around. You have treated my name as if it were not holy. Each of you has taken back your male and female slaves. You had set them free to go where they wished. But now you have forced them to become your slaves again.”
17So the Lord says, “You have not obeyed me. You have not set your Hebrew slaves free. So now I will set you free,” announces the Lord. “I will set you free to be destroyed by war, plague and hunger. I will make all the kingdoms on earth displeased with you. 18Those people who have broken my covenant will be punished. They have not lived up to the terms of the covenant they made in front of me. When you made that covenant, you cut a calf in two. Then you walked between its pieces. Now I will cut you to pieces. 19That includes all of you who walked between the pieces of the calf. It includes the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials and the priests. It also includes some of the people of the land. 20So I will hand over all those people to their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.
21“I will hand over King Zedekiah and his officials to their enemies. I will hand them over to those who want to kill them. I will hand them over to the armies of the king of Babylon. They have now pulled back from you. 22But I am going to give an order,” announces the Lord. “I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it. They will capture it and burn it down. And I will completely destroy the towns of Judah. No one will be able to live there.”
Wɔbɔ Sedekia Kɔkɔ
1Ɛberɛ a Babiloniahene Nebukadnessar ne nʼakodɔm ne nʼahennie nyinaa ne nnipa a wɔwɔ ahemman a ɔdi soɔ no mu reko tia Yerusalem ne nkuro a atwa ne ho ahyia no, saa asɛm yi firi Awurade nkyɛn baa Yeremia hɔ sɛ, 2“Deɛ Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn seɛ nie: Kɔ Yudahene Sedekia nkyɛn na kɔka kyerɛ no sɛ, ‘Sɛdeɛ Awurade seɛ nie: Mede kuropɔn yi rebɛhyɛ Babiloniahene nsa, na ɔbɛhye no dworobɛɛ. 3Worennwane mfiri ne nsam na nokorɛm wɔbɛkyere wo de wo akɔma no. Wo de wʼani bɛhunu Babiloniahene na ɔne wo bɛkasa anim ne anim. Na wobɛkɔ Babilonia.
4“ ‘Nanso tie Awurade bɔhyɛ, Ao, Yudahene Sedekia. Yei ne deɛ Awurade ka fa wo ho: Worenwu wɔ akofena ano; 5na wobɛwu asomdwoeɛ mu. Sɛdeɛ nnipa bɔɔ ayiyɛ gyatanaa de hyɛɛ wʼagyanom animuonyam, ahemfo dada a wɔdii wʼanim no, saa ara na wɔbɛbɔ gyatanaa ahyɛ wo animuonyam na wɔabɔ bena sɛ, “Ao owura!” Me ankasa na mehyɛ saa bɔ yi, Awurade na ɔseɛ.’ ”
6Na odiyifoɔ Yeremia kaa yeinom nyinaa kyerɛɛ Yudahene Sedekia wɔ Yerusalem, 7ɛberɛ a Babiloniahene akodɔm reko tia Yerusalem ne Yuda nkuropɔn, Lakis ne Aseka34.7 Lakis ne Aseka—Salomo babarima Rehoboam bɔɔ saa nkuro yi ho ban nanso akyire yi, Asiria ɔhempɔn Senaherib tuaa ano wɔ Lakis ɔhene Hesekia berɛ so. (2 Be 32.9) a na wɔgu so reko wɔ hɔ. Yei ne nkuropɔn a na aka wɔ Yuda a wɔwɔ banbɔ.
Nkoa Ahofadie
8Asɛm no firi Awurade hɔ baa Yeremia nkyɛn ɛberɛ a ɔhene Sedekia ne Yerusalemfoɔ ayɛ apam sɛ wɔbɛma nkoa ahofadie no akyi. 9Ɛsɛ sɛ obiara gyaa ne nkoa ne mfenaa Hebrifoɔ; na obiara nni ho ɛkwan sɛ ɔde ne yɔnko Yudani yɛ akoa. 10Enti adwumayɛfoɔ no nyinaa ne nnipa a wɔyɛɛ saa apam yi penee so sɛ wɔbɛgyaa wɔn nkoa ne mfenaa, na wɔremfa wɔn nyɛ nkoa bio. Wɔpenee so, na wɔgyaa wɔn. 11Nanso, akyire yi, wɔsesaa wɔn adwene na wɔsane faa nnipa a wɔgyaa wɔn no de wɔn yɛɛ nkoa bio.
12Na Awurade asɛm baa Yeremia nkyɛn sɛ, 13“Deɛ Awurade, Israel Onyankopɔn, seɛ nie: Me ne mo agyanom yɛɛ apam ɛberɛ a meyii wɔn firii Misraim, nkoasom asase so no. Mekaa sɛ, 14‘Mfeɛ nson biara no, ɛsɛ sɛ mo mu biara gyaa ne yɔnko Hebrini a watɔn ne ho ama no. Sɛ wasom mfeɛ nsia a gyaa no na ɔmfa ne ho nni.’ Nanso, mo agyanom antie na wɔamfa mʼasɛm. 15Ɛnkyɛree koraa monuu mo ho na moyɛɛ deɛ ɛyɛ wɔ mʼani so: Mo mu biara paee ahofadie maa ne ɔman mma. Mpo moyɛɛ apam wɔ mʼanim, wɔ efie a me Din da soɔ no mu. 16Nanso seesei, moadane mo ho na moahura me din ho; mo mu biara asane akɔfa nkoa ne mfenaa a mogyaa wɔn sɛ wɔnkɔ baabiara a wɔpɛ no. Moahyɛ wɔn ama wɔayɛ mo nkoa bio.
17“Afei, deɛ Awurade seɛ nie: Montiee me na mompaee ahofadie mmaa mo ankasa nkurɔfoɔ. Enti afei mepae mu ka ahofadie ma mo, Awurade na ɔseɛ. Mɛgyaa mo ama akofena, ɔyaredɔm ne ɔkɔm. Mɛma mo ayɛ akyiwadeɛ ama asase so ahennie ahodoɔ nyinaa. 18Nnipa a wɔabu mʼapam so, na wɔanni nhyehyɛeɛ a ɛwɔ apam a wɔayɛ wɔ mʼanim no so no, mɛyɛ wɔn sɛ nantwie ba a wɔpaee ne mu mmienu na wɔnantee nʼafaafa no ntam no. 19Yuda ne Yerusalem ntuanofoɔ, asɛnniiɛ adwumayɛfoɔ, asɔfoɔ ne asase no so nnipa no nyinaa a monante faa nantwie ba no afaafa no ntam no, 20mede wɔn bɛma wɔn atamfoɔ a wɔrepɛ wɔn nkwa no. Wɔn afunu bɛyɛ aduane ama ewiem nnomaa ne asase so mmoa.
21“Mede Yudahene Sedekia ne nʼadwumayɛfoɔ bɛhyɛ wɔn atamfoɔ a wɔrepɛ wɔn nkwa, Babiloniahene akodɔm a wɔatwe wɔn ho no nsa. 22Merebɛhyɛ, Awurade asɛm nie, na mɛsane de wɔn aba kuropɔn yi mu. Wɔbɛko atia no, wɔbɛfa, na wɔahye no dwerɛbee. Na mɛma Yuda nkuro ada mpan a ɔbiara rentumi ntena hɔ.”
