Jeremiah 34:17
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Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
In this chapter we have two messages which God sent by Jeremiah. I. One to foretel the fate of Zedekiah king of Judah, that he should fall into the hands of the king of Babylon, that he should live a captive, but should at last die in peace in his captivity (Jer 34:1-7). II. Another to read the doom both of prince and people for their treacherous dealings with God, in bringing back into bondage their servants whom they had released according to the law, and so playing fast and loose with God. They had walked at all adventures with God (Jer 34:8-11), and therefore God would walk at all adventures with them, in bringing the Chaldean army upon them again when they began to hope that they had got clear of them (Jer 34:12-22).
Open source ↗34:17-20 Because of their sin in breaking the terms of their covenant, the Lord would cut them apart and separate them from his protective care. This expression relates to the covenant ceremony of killing and cutting a calf sacrifice into two parts from head to tail. Those making a covenant walked between the laid-out portions to indicate their willingness to be similarly cut apart if they violated the covenant (see Gen 15:9-18). All classes of people in Judah had broken their oath, so they would all receive the punishment to which they had agreed.
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
‘After that,’ declares the LORD, ‘I will hand over Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and the people in this city who survive the plague and sword and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who seek their lives. He will put them to the sword; he will not spare them or show pity or compassion.’