The word that came to Ieremias from the Lord—and Nabouchodonosor king of Babylon and all his army and all the land of his dominion were fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah—saying:
Thus said the Lord: Go to Sedekias king of Judah and you shall say to him: Thus said the Lord: This city shall surely be handed over into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall seize it and shall burn it with fire.
And you shall not be saved from his hand, but you shall surely be seized and shall be given into his hands; and your eyes shall see his eyes, and his mouth shall speak with your mouth, and you shall go into Babylon.
In peace you shall die; and as they wept for your fathers who reigned before you, so they shall weep also for you, and they shall lament for you, 'O adon!'; for I have spoken a word, said the Lord.
And the force of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against the cities of Judah, against Lachis and against Azeka, for these were the ones left among the cities of Judah, fortified cities.
namely, that each should send away his male servant and each his female servant, the Hebrew man and the Hebrew woman, free, so that no man of Judah should be enslaved.
Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers on the day when I delivered them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying:
When six years are fulfilled, you shall send away your Hebrew brother who shall be sold to you and shall work for you six years, and you shall send him away free. And they did not listen to me and did not incline their ear.
And they turned today to do what is right before my eyes, to proclaim a release each to his neighbor, and they completed a covenant before my face in the house upon which my name was called.
But you turned back and profaned my name, bringing back each his male servant and each his female servant, whom you had sent away free to their own soul, to be for yourselves male and female servants.
Therefore thus said the Lord: You did not listen to me, to proclaim a release each to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim a release for you—to the sword and to death and to famine; and I will give you over to dispersion among all the kingdoms of the earth.
And I will give over the men who have transgressed my covenant, who did not uphold my covenant which they made before my face—the calf which they made in order to work with it—
And Sedekias king of Judea and their rulers I will give into the hands of their enemies; and the force of the king of Babylon to those who are withdrawing from them.
Behold, I am giving orders, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to this land, and they shall fight against it and shall take it and shall burn it with fire; and the cities of Judah I will make desolate, without inhabitants.