Jeremiah 34:14

14 ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’^[a] Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me.

Jeremiah 34:14 in Other Translations

14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

14 'At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.' But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.

14 I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me.

14 "At the end of seven years, each of you must free any fellow Hebrew who has had to sell himself to you. After he has served six years, set him free." But your ancestors totally ignored me.

14 At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee, and hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

14 'Every seven years each of you must free any Hebrews who sold themselves to you. When they have served you for six years, you must set them free.' But your ancestors refused to obey me or listen to me.

14 At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must send him out free from you. But your ancestors did not obey Me or pay any attention.

14 'Every seventh year you must set your people free. You must set free all of the Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. Let them serve you for six years. Then you must let them go free.'(Deuteronomy 15:12) But your people did not listen to me. They did not pay any attention to me.

Jeremiah 34:14 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 34:14

At the end of seven years
Not when seven years were elapsed and fully completed; but within the compass of seven years, or as soon as the seventh year was began; for this term of seven years is the term of the seventh year coming in, and not going out, as appears from the law itself, ( Exodus 21:9 ) ; and from an after clause in this verse, "when he hath served thee six years"; at the end of which, and the beginning of the seventh: and so Maimonides ^F13 interprets this law,

``he whom the sanhedrim sold served six years from the day of his sale, and at the beginning of the seventh year he was free:''

though the Vulgate Latin version very wrongly renders it, "when seven years are completed"; which version Sanctius takes a good deal of pains to reconcile to the original law. A Hebrew might sell himself for more years than six; he might sell himself for ten or twelve, as the above Jewish writer says, and nothing could release him but the year of jubilee; and that would do it, if he had served but one year ^F14; let ye go every man his brother, an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto
thee;
or, "hath sold himself unto thee" ^F15; to be a servant; for money was not given with apprentices to their masters, as is usual with us; but masters gave money for their servants, and bought them either of themselves, or of the magistrates; hence it is said, "if thou buy an Hebrew servant" ( Exodus 21:2 ) . A Hebrew servant was sold either against his will, or with it; if a man committed a theft, and he had not wherewith to make restoration, the sanhedrim or magistrates said him: if he was exceeding poor, the law gave him liberty to sell himself; but he might not sell himself as long as he had anything left, even a covering; and after that was gone, he might sell himself; and he was bought with silver or the value of silver or by contract or bond ^F16; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shall let him go free
from thee;
or "from with thee" ^F17; from being with thee, from being in thy house, as well as from being in thy service; he was to be dismissed, so as to go where he pleased, and work for himself, or another, as he thought fit; but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear;
to obey the laws of God, and particularly this concerning servants. This is not to be understood of the fathers with whom the covenant was first made, and to whom this law was first given; but their posterity in later times, who yet lived long before the present generation, and so might with great propriety be called their fathers; and by which it appears that this law had been long neglected.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 Hilchot Abadim, c. 2. sect. 2.
F14 Ibid.
F15 (Kl rkmy) "se ventdiderit tibi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F16 Hilchot Abadim, c. 1. sect. 1, 2. & c. 2. sect. 1.
F17 (Kmem) "acuta te", Schmidt.

Jeremiah 34:14 In-Context

12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

13 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said,

14 ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me.

15 Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.

16 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.

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 21:2
• 2. Deuteronomy 15:12; 2 Kings 17:14; S Jeremiah 7:26

Footnotes

• [a] Deut. 15:12