34:1 Yahweh’s first word through Jeremiah in this chapter comes in Judah’s eleventh hour, during the final siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The description of the siege as involving “all [Nebuchadnezzar’s] army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities” may seem hyperbolic for its repeated use of “all.” But elsewhere in the book Nebuchadnezzar has already been portrayed as Yahweh’s chosen king to accomplish cosmic purposes, the one who pours out Yahweh’s cup of discipline against the nations (25:15–26), and “my servant” (25:9; 27:6), a title usually reserved for a Davidic king (e.g., 2 Sam. 7:5, 8; 1 Kings 11:32; Ezek. 34:23).

34:2–5 Jeremiah is commissioned to inform King Zedekiah that the wheels of divine judgment have begun to turn. The imminence of Nebuchadnezzar’s victory over Jerusalem is reflected in the present progressive verb of Yahweh’s verdict: “I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire” (Jer. 35:2). Although Zedekiah has often been buoyed by false hope from lying prophets (e.g., 28:1–16) or by Egypt’s insurgency against Babylon (e.g., 37:5–10), this time there will be no escape. He will be captured and personally delivered to Nebuchadnezzar for exile in Babylon (34:3), although he will not die a violent death, as his people in Jerusalem will (v. 4).

It is nonetheless surprising that Yahweh promises to Zedekiah that he “shall die in peace” (cf. v. 4; “you shall not die by the sword”) and that his passing will be mourned by his people (v. 5). OT narrative accounts of Jerusalem’s fall describe Zedekiah as witnessing the slaughter of his sons before his eyes are plucked out and he is brought to Babylon (Jer. 52:10–11//2 Kings 25:6–7). There need not be any contradiction, however. As in other passages, the fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises is conditional upon his people’s accepting them. It is Zedekiah’s refusal to accept Yahweh’s word that Babylon will triumph (cf. Jer. 27:8–15) that results in the violent manner of his blinding and deportation, despite the fact that his life is ultimately spared.

34:6–7 Jeremiah proceeds to deliver the oracle to Zedekiah. The king’s reaction is not recorded, but an earlier passage mentioned that Zedekiah challenged these very words of Jeremiah and locked him up for saying them: “Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, ‘Why do you prophesy and say, “Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city in to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it”’” (32:3). Hostility is not his only response to Jeremiah, however; other passages describe him as a double-minded figure in times of crisis who also exhibits sympathy (37:21; 38:14, 16) and helplessness (38:5) toward the prophet.

Zedekiah’s shifting moods likely reflect the diminishment of hope for Jerusalem over time. The chapter’s opening statement that Jerusalem and its environs are under siege (cf. 34:1) is followed by a more ominous description that Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah are Judah’s only cities not to have fallen to Babylon (v. 7). Although these are the last days for Judah, the preceding “Book of Consolation” (chs. 30–33) shows that a better future awaits the people of Yahweh after judgment.

34:8–11 The second prophetic oracle in this chapter also comes during the reign of Zedekiah, though there is no explicit cause-and-effect relationship with the first oracle. At issue in the present passage is a covenant that King Zedekiah makes with the people of Jerusalem to set free fellow Hebrews who had entered debt slavery (v. 9). In belated obedience to an ancient Pentateuchal law (Deut. 15:12), the people practice manumission of slaves for a brief period (Jer. 34:10) but then return them to their former subjection (v. 11). This temporary obedience is probably motivated by Zedekiah’s desire to strengthen his position before Yahweh and thereby overcome his weaknesses as Nebuchadnezzar’s vassal. Zedekiah will eventually demonstrate similar fickleness in rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar, being enticed by the false prophets’ message that Yahweh would give him victory (cf. 37:9–10).

34:12–16 In contrast to such short-lived obedience, Yahweh responds through Jeremiah (v. 12) by recalling his formative deeds as a God who liberates slaves. He set his people free from Egypt’s bondage (v. 13) and imparted to them the covenant stipulation that debt slavery among Hebrews was to last no longer than six years (v. 14). Although Zedekiah and the people briefly reverse Judah’s long history of social injustice (v. 15; cf. ch. 22), economic pragmatism again overtakes the ethical distinctiveness of Yahweh’s people and Hebrew slaves are enslaved once more (34:16). The tragedy is that this time their masters are fellow Israelites, not Egyptians!

34:17–22 Yahweh answers this flirtation with obedience using punishments that bear a painful resemblance to the crime. Zedekiah’s fleeting offer of “liberty” to Hebrew slaves will be met with the irony of “liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine.” Yahweh will release his people from the safety of Jerusalem into the hands of nations that will shame them (v. 17). Likewise, leaders who sealed the covenant by passing between the two halves of the sacrificial calf will be cut into pieces just like it was (vv. 18–19; cf. Gen. 15:17). A people thus slain by their enemies will become prey for scavengers (Jer. 34:20).

A similar fate awaits Zedekiah and his officials. They will suffer defeat in battle even though Babylon’s armies have suspended their siege in the face of Egypt’s attempt to aid Judah (v. 21; cf. 37:7). The intervention of Egypt will ultimately be futile, as Yahweh vows to bring Babylon back to finish the siege of Jerusalem, destroy the city, and empty it of its people (34:22; cf. 37:8–10). Humanly speaking, this victory of Babylon over Judah and Egypt might be attributed to the superior strength of its armies. But Jeremiah’s prophecy repeatedly indicates that it is Yahweh who is fighting for Babylon and against Judah and Egypt (21:4–5; 44:30).