Jeremiah 34:2

2 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him: This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon,^[a] and he will burn it down.

Jeremiah 34:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 34:2

Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel
Who, though the covenant God of Israel, yet provoked by their sins, sends the following message to their king: go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him:
alone; and tell it to no other but him, at least at present; the message being more peculiar to him, and must, had it been told to the people, been very disheartening to them: behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon,
and he shall burn it with fire;
see ( Jeremiah 32:3 ) ; which was exactly accomplished, ( Jeremiah 52:13 ) .

Jeremiah 34:2 In-Context

1 [This is] the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control, and all other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities:

2 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him: This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.

3 As for you, you will not escape from his hand but are certain to be captured and handed over to him. You will meet the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak face to face;you will go to Babylon.

4 "Yet hear the Lord's word, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;

5 you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you. Alas, lord! will be the lament for you, for I have spoken [this] word." [This is] the Lord's declaration.

Footnotes

• [a]. Jr 32:3,28