Jeremiah 34:17

17 Therefore the Lord saith these things, Ye heard not me, that ye preached freedom, each man to his brother, and each man to his friend; lo! (so now) I preach to you freedom, saith the Lord, and to sword, and to hunger, and to pestilence; and I shall give you into stirring to all realms of (the) earth. (And so the Lord saith these things, Ye did not listen to me, ye who proclaimed freedom, each person to their brother, and each person to their friend; so now lo! I proclaim freedom to you, saith the Lord, yea, freedom to the sword, and to hunger, and to pestilence; and I shall give you into stirring, or into loathing, by all the kingdoms of the earth.)

Jeremiah 34:17 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 34:17

Therefore thus saith the Lord
This being the case, and this their crime, which was provoking to the Lord; ye have not hearkened unto me in proclaiming liberty everyone to his
brother, and everyone to his neighbour;
for though they did proclaim liberty, they did not act according to it; they did not give the liberty they proclaimed, at least they did not continue so to do; as soon almost as they had granted the favour, they took it away again; and because they did not persevere in well doing, it is reckoned by the Lord as not done at all: behold, I proclaim liberty for you, saith the Lord;
or rather against them; he dismissed them from his service, care, and protection, and consigned them to other lords and masters: he gave them up to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine;
to rule over them; and gave them liberty to make havoc of them, and destroy them, that what was left by the one might be seized on by the other: and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth:
or, "for a commotion" ^F20; to be moved, and wander from place to place in great fear and terror, not knowing where to settle or live comfortably. This was a liberty to go about in foreign countries where they could, for relief and shelter, being banished from their own land; but this was a liberty very miserable and uncomfortable; and indeed no other than captivity and bondage; and so it is threatened that what remained of them, who were not destroyed with the sword of the Chaldeans, or perished not by pestilence and famine, should be carried captive, and be miserable vagabonds in each of the kingdoms and nations of the world.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 (hewzl) "in commotionem", Vatablus, Cocceius, Schmidt, "commotioni", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Jeremiah 34:17 In-Context

15 And ye be converted today, and ye did that, that is rightful before mine eyes, that ye preached each man freedom to his friend, and ye made (a) covenant in my sight, in the house wherein my name is called to help on that freedom. (And today ye turned, and ye did what was right before my eyes, in that ye preached freedom for each person to their friend, and ye made a covenant in my sight, in the House where my name is called on for help/and ye made a covenant before me, in the House which is called by my name.)

16 And ye turned again, and defouled my name, and ye brought again each man his servant, and each man his handmaid, which ye delivered, that they should be free, and of their own power; and ye made them subject, that they be servants and handmaids to you. (But then ye turned again, and defiled my name, and each person took back his servant, and his servantess, whom they had let go, so that they could be free, and under their own power; and ye made them subject again, so that they be your servants and your servantesses.)

17 Therefore the Lord saith these things, Ye heard not me, that ye preached freedom, each man to his brother, and each man to his friend; lo! (so now) I preach to you freedom, saith the Lord, and to sword, and to hunger, and to pestilence; and I shall give you into stirring to all realms of (the) earth. (And so the Lord saith these things, Ye did not listen to me, ye who proclaimed freedom, each person to their brother, and each person to their friend; so now lo! I proclaim freedom to you, saith the Lord, yea, freedom to the sword, and to hunger, and to pestilence; and I shall give you into stirring, or into loathing, by all the kingdoms of the earth.)

18 And I shall give the men, that brake my bond of peace, and kept not the words of [the] bond of peace, to which they assented in my sight, and kept not the calf which they cutted into two parts; (And I shall make those who broke my covenant, and did not keep, or obey, the words of the covenant, to which they assented before me, to become like the calf which they cut into two parts;)

19 and (they be) the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, and the honest (and chaste) servants, and priests (that) went between the partings thereof, and all the people of the land, that went between the partings of the calf; (and these be the leaders of Judah, and the leaders of Jerusalem, and the eunuchs, and the priests who went between its parts, and all the people of the land, who went between the parts of the calf;)