Jeremiah 34 16

Jeremiah 34:16 kjv

But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

Jeremiah 34:16 nkjv

Then you turned around and profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom you had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.'

Jeremiah 34:16 niv

But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.

Jeremiah 34:16 esv

but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.

Jeremiah 34:16 nlt

But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.

Jeremiah 34 verses

Jeremiah 34 16 Meaning

This verse speaks of God's severe judgment against the unfaithful leaders and people of Judah. Their past actions have corrupted their relationship with God. God is bringing a curse and devastation upon them because they have turned away from His commands and broken their covenant. They have defied Him and caused spiritual ruin, leading to His impending wrath and the scattering of their nation.

Jeremiah 34 16 Context

This chapter is set during the final siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah is delivering a message from God to King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem. In the preceding verses (Jeremiah 34:8-11), the people had made a covenant to proclaim liberty to their slaves as commanded by God, following a famine. However, shortly after, they reneged on this promise, violating their solemn oath and thus God's command. This verse, Jeremiah 34:16, is a direct indictment and consequence of their hypocrisy and the breaking of this covenant. The historical context involves political instability and the impending doom of the kingdom of Judah.

Jeremiah 34 16 Word analysis

• But you have turned: (Hebrew: וְאַתֶּ֧ם (v'at-tem) - and you (plural) have turned; Hebrew: שֹׁבְבִ֧ים (shov-vim) - turning back, rebellious). This highlights a deliberate act of reversing their course of obedience and acting in defiance.
• and profaned my name: (Hebrew: וַֽתְחַלְּל֧וּ (vat-challel-lu) - and you have desecrated, profaned, made common). This signifies making God's name, and by extension God Himself, to be regarded with contempt and dishonor.
• by turning back: (Hebrew: לָשׁ֣וּב (la-shuv) - to return). Reinforces the theme of reversal from their prior commitment.
• every man his slave: (Hebrew: אִישׁ֙ (ish) - man; Hebrew: עַבְדּ֤וֹ (av-do) - his male slave). Refers to individuals' personal ownership and control over those in bondage.
• and his maid: (Hebrew: וּ֠שִׁפְחָתוֹ (u-shif-chato) - and his female slave). Explicitly includes female servants.
• whom you had put in liberty: (Hebrew: אֲשֶׁר־שִׁלַּחְתֶּ֣ם (ash-er-shil-chtem) - whom you sent away, dismissed, released). Refers to the act of freeing the slaves, indicating they were previously bound.
• to serve themselves: (Hebrew: לְחָפְשִׁי֒ (lechof-shi) - to be free, to serve themselves). Means to be masters of their own lives and labor, a state of true liberty.
• and had come again: (Hebrew: וַתָּשֻׁ֧בוּ (vat-ta-shu-vu) - and you returned). The repetition of "turn" or "return" emphasizes their repeated backsliding.
• and brought them into servitude to them: (Hebrew: וַתִּקְח֣וּ (vat-tik-chu) - and you took; Hebrew: אֹתָ֧ם (ot-am) - them; Hebrew: עֲבָדִ֧ים (avad-im) - slaves). This signifies the forced re-enslavement, a violation of the released status.
• Therefore, thus says the LORD: (Hebrew: לָכֵ֞ן (la-chen) - therefore; Hebrew: כֹּ֥ה (ko) - thus; Hebrew: אָמַ֖ר (a-mar) - says; Hebrew: יְהֹוָ֑ה (Adonai) - LORD). This introduces God's declarative response of judgment, signaling the consequences.
• You have not obeyed me: (Hebrew: לֹֽא־שְׁמַעְתֶּם־לִ֑י (lo-shma-tem-li) - you have not listened to me, obeyed me). A direct accusation of failing to heed God's command, which was foundational to their covenant.
• to proclaim liberty: (Hebrew: לִקְרֹא־חֵ֣רוּת (lik-ro-cherut) - to call out, proclaim freedom). The act of officially declaring freedom for their slaves, as mandated.
• every man to his brother, a man to his neighbor: (Hebrew: אִ֠ישׁ לְאָחִ֧יו (ish le-a-chiv) - man to his brother; Hebrew: וְאִ֧ישׁ לְרֵעֵ֛הוּ (v'eish le-re-ei-hu) - and man to his neighbor). Underscores the communal responsibility and relational aspect of this liberation.
• Behold, I proclaim: (Hebrew: הִנְנִי־קֹרֵ֤א (hin-ni-ko-re) - behold, I am proclaiming). God Himself steps in to declare a counter-proclamation.
• a declaration of liberty for you, says the LORD: (Hebrew: דְּרוֹר֙ (dror) - liberty, freedom; Hebrew: לָכֶ֣ם (la-chem) - for you). This is a divine, paradoxical proclamation of "liberty" which is actually a judgment.
• by the sword, by the pestilence, and by the famine!: (Hebrew: בַּחֶ֙רֶב֙ (ba-che-rev) - by the sword; Hebrew: בַּדֶּ֔בֶר (bad-de-ver) - by the pestilence; Hebrew: וּבָרָעָב֙ (u-va-ra-av) - and by the famine). These are the specific means through which God's judgment will be enacted, the instruments of devastation.
• And I will deliver you to be battered about: (Hebrew: וּנְתַתִּ֧י (u-n'tat-ti) - and I will give; Hebrew: לְמַשְׂחֵ֖ת (le-mas-chet) - for destruction, ruin, devastation). Signifies handing them over to severe suffering and destruction.
• among all the kingdoms of the earth: (Hebrew: לְכָל־מַמְלְכ֖וֹת (le-chol-mam-le-chot) - to all kingdoms). The scope of their judgment is to be dispersed and humiliated before all nations.
• and it shall be: (Hebrew: וְהָיָה֙ (v'ha-ya) - and it shall come to pass). Introduces the subsequent consequences that will occur as a result of their actions.
• that each of you shall become a curse, an astonishment, a proverb, and a curse: (Hebrew: מְאֵרָ֑ה (m'e-ra) - a curse; Hebrew: לְשַׁמָּ֔ה (lesh'ma-mah) - an astonishment, desolation; Hebrew: לְמָשָׁ֥ל (lem'shal) - a proverb, object lesson; Hebrew: וְלִֽגְדוּפָֽה (v'lig-du-fa) - and for a reviling, insult, reproach). Describes the nature of their fate—they will be bywords, subjects of ridicule, and despised by other nations.
• where I will drive you: (Hebrew: אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י (ash-er-a-ni) - where I; Hebrew: נֹהֵ֥ג (no-heg) - drive, lead, conduct). God is the active agent in their scattering and ultimate disgrace.
• you shall send my appointed sacrifice into the ground: (Hebrew: כִּי־שָׁלַחְתֶּ֣ם (ki-sha-lach-tem) - because you sent; Hebrew: את־דְּבָרַ֤י (et-dva-rai) - my words/commandments (could also be my sacrifice/offering interpretation by context). If interpreted as "my sacrifice," it could refer to their own guilt or the people they should have served who are now treated as lesser than sacrificial offerings. The RSV and NIV translate "my ordinances" or "my covenants." The idea is their violation of the established covenant.
• you shall not have anyone to make you afraid. (Hebrew: לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֤ה (lo-yi-hyeh) - there will not be; Hebrew: לָכֶ֣ם (la-chem) - for you; Hebrew: מְפַחֵֽד (m'fa-ched) - one to make afraid). This clause's exact nuance is debated, but in context of judgment, it could mean they will have no one left to stand with them, no one to whom they owe obedience, or they will face fear itself with no rescuer. A more literal rendering might be "no one to put into fear", meaning they won't be feared anymore by their former slaves, but rather become subjects of fear. Given the broader context of judgment, it signifies the utter dismantling of their societal power and security.
• because you have not obeyed my voice. (Hebrew: כִּי־לֹ֥א שְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ם (ki-lo-shma-tem) - because you have not heard/obeyed). Reiteration of the core reason for judgment: disobedience.
• Have you not committed this? that you proclaim liberty, every man to his brother and neighbor. I have returned you to your place from the land of Egypt. (This phrase is part of a rhetorical question in the following verse, but the essence is contrasting their previous deliverance with their current betrayal). The Exodus deliverance and their own act of proclaimed liberty for their slaves are contrasted with their subsequent unfaithfulness.
• But you have spoken falsely against the LORD. (Hebrew: וַתְּדַבְּר֥וּ (vat-t'da-be-ru) - and you spoke; Hebrew: דִּבְרֵ֤י (div-rei) - words, statements; Hebrew: שֶׁ֔קֶר (she-ker) - falsehood, lies). Indicates verbal defiance and the dissemination of untruths that are against God.

Jeremiah 34 16 Bonus Section

The concept of "profaning God's name" is central here. In ancient Near Eastern thought, a king's name or honor was bound up with his decrees and actions. Similarly, when God's people disobey His clear commands, they disgrace His name in the eyes of the world, attributing shame to Him who is holy. The conditional "liberty" proclaimed by God in this verse is a literary device showing God turning their own actions and broken promises back on them as a form of retributive justice. The scattering mentioned is a recurring theme in the Old Testament for national unfaithfulness, signifying the loss of land, identity, and divine protection. The imagery of being "a curse, an astonishment, a proverb, and a curse" powerfully describes the ultimate degradation and shame that results from total alienation from God's favor due to persistent sin.

Jeremiah 34 16 Commentary

Jeremiah 34:16 serves as a powerful denunciation of Judah's betrayal of a covenant concerning the liberation of their Hebrew slaves. God declares that by failing to keep their promise of freedom, they have not only broken a solemn oath but also profaned His name and acted against His commands, especially those related to justice and liberty in the land. The consequence is dire: God proclaims a "liberty" for them, but this is a liberty to be destroyed by sword, famine, and pestilence, leading to their scattering and becoming bywords among the nations. The verse highlights the severe consequences of disobedience and the breaking of covenant. God's justice extends to the realm of social and economic structures, demonstrating that how people treat those in their charge reflects their obedience to Him. Their proclaimed liberty for slaves is turned into a sentence of doom for themselves, revealing God's righteousness in addressing their unfaithfulness.

• Practical application: This verse reminds believers that upholding promises and covenants, especially those related to justice and the well-being of others, is crucial. Breaking them, even in small ways, can have far-reaching consequences, displeasing God and incurring His judgment.