Jeremiah 34:2-6

34:2 The Lord God of Israel told Jeremiah ¹  to go and give King Zedekiah of Judah a message. He told Jeremiah ²  to tell him, “The Lord says, ‘I am going to ³  hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will burn it down. 34:3 You yourself will not escape his clutches, but will certainly be captured and handed over to him. You must confront the king of Babylon face to face and answer to him personally. ⁴  Then you must go to Babylon. 34:4 However, listen to what I, the Lord, promise you, King Zedekiah of Judah. I, the Lord, promise that ⁵  you will not die in battle or be executed. ⁶  34:5 You will die a peaceful death. They will burn incense at your burial just as they did at the burial of your ancestors, the former kings who preceded you. ⁷  They will mourn for you, saying, “Poor, poor master!” ⁸  Indeed, you have my own word on this. ⁹  I, the Lord, affirm it!’” ¹⁰ 

34:6 The prophet Jeremiah told all this to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.

[34:2]  ¹ tn Heb “told him”; the referent (Jeremiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:2]  ² tn Heb “told him”; the referent (Jeremiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:2]  ³ tn Heb 34:1 “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord…saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I am going to….”’”’” The translation has tried to avoid some of the confusion that is created by embedding quotations within quotations by using indirect quotation in some instances; the conceptualization is the same but the style is simpler.

[34:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “Your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon and his mouth will speak with your mouth.” For this same idiom in reverse order see 32:4 and consult the translator’s note there for the obligatory nuance given to the verbs.

[34:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “However, hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah king of Judah, ‘Thus says the Lord to you, “You will not die by the sword.”’” The translation has tried to avoid the complexity created by embedding quotes within quotes and has used the first person address within the Lord’s speech as has also been done elsewhere.

[34:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “by the sword.”

[34:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “And like the burning [of incense] for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so will they burn [incense] for you.” The sentence has been reversed for easier style and the technical use of the terms interpreted.

[34:5]  ⁸ sn The intent of this oracle may have been to contrast the fate of Zedekiah with that of Jehoiakim who was apparently executed, went unmourned, and was left unburied (contrast Jer 22:18-19).

[34:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “For [or Indeed] I myself have spoken [this] word.”

[34:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”