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 34:2-5 . Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and thou shalt not escape, &c. — This prophecy, which threatened the king in particular, as well as the city and nation in general, so much displeased Zedekiah that he shut up Jeremiah in prison. See notes on Jeremiah 32:2-5 , where the same things are related that occur here. But thou shalt die in peace — Namely, by a natural death. The king of Babylon took him, killed his sons before his eyes, then put out his eyes, and bound him with chains, ( Jeremiah 39:7 ,) but did not put him to death, as we here learn. With the burning of thy fathers, &c., so shall they burn odours for thee — It was customary among the Jews, at the funerals of their kings, especially of those whose memories they honoured, to prepare a bed of spices, of which they made a perfume by burning them, and therein to deposite the body of the deceased prince: see 2 Chronicles 16:14 ; 2 Chronicles 21:19 . And they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! — In these, and the foregoing words, God promises Zedekiah an honourable interment, and suitable to his quality; a favour he did not vouchsafe to Jehoiakim, Jeremiah 22:18 .

CHAPTER 34 Jer 34:1-22. Captivity of Zedekiah and the People Foretold for Their Disobedience and Perfidy. The prophecy (Jer 34:1-7) as to Zedekiah is an amplification of that in Jer 32:1-5, in consequence of which Jeremiah was then shut up in the court of the prison. The prophecy (Jer 34:8-22) refers to the Jews, who, afraid of the capture of the city, had, in obedience to the law, granted freedom to their servants at the end of seven years, but on the intermission of the siege forced them back into bondage. 1. Jerusalem and … all the cities thereof—(see on [944]Jer 19:15). It was amazing blindness in the king, that, in such a desperate position, he should reject admonition.

"Thus saith Jahveh: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, that he may burn it with fire. Jeremiah 34:3 . And thou shalt not escape from his hand, but shalt certainly be seized and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with thy mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. Jeremiah 34:4 . But hear the word of Jahveh, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. Thus saith Jahveh concerning thee: Thou shalt not die by the sword. Jeremiah 34:5 . In peace shalt thou die; and as with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings who were before thee, so shall they make a burning for thee, and they shall wail for thee, [crying,] 'Alas, lord!' for I have spoken the word, saith Jahveh. - On Jeremiah 34:2 , Jeremiah 34:3 , cf. Jeremiah 32:3-5 . "But hear," Jeremiah 34:4 , introduces an exception to what has been said before; but the meaning of Jeremiah 34:4 , Jeremiah 34:5 is disputed. They are usually understood in this say: Zedekiah shall be carried into exile to Babylon, but shall not be killed with the sword, or executed, but shall die a peaceful death, and be buried with royal honours. But C. B. Michaelis, Venema, Hitzig, and Graf take the words as an exception that will occur, should Zedekiah follow the advice given him to deliver himself up to the king of Babylon, instead of continuing the struggle.

Then what is denounced in Jeremiah 34:3 will not happen; Zedekiah shall not be carried away to Babylon, but shall die as king in Jerusalem. This view rests on the hypothesis that the divine message has for its object to induce the king to submit and give up himself (cf. Jeremiah 38:17 .). But this supposition has no foundation; and what must be inserted, as the condition laid before Zedekiah, "if thou dost willingly submit to the king of Babylon," is quite arbitrary, and incompatible with the spirit of the word, "But hear the word of Jahveh," for in this case Jeremiah 34:4 at least would require to run, "Obey the word of Jahveh" (שׁמע בּדבר ), as Jeremiah 38:20 . To take the words שׁמע דברin the sense, "Give ear to the word, obey the word of Jahveh," is not merely inadmissible grammatically, but also against the context; for the word of Jahveh which Zedekiah is to hear, gives no directions as to how he is to act, but is simply an intimation as to what the end of his life shall be: to change or avert this does not stand in his power, so that we cannot here think of obedience or disobedience. The message in Jeremiah 34:4 , Jeremiah 34:5 states more in detail what that was which lay before Zedekiah: he shall fall into the hands of the king of Babylon, be carried into exile in Babylon, yet shall not die a violent death through the sword, but die peacefully, and be buried with honour - not, like Jehoiakim, fall in battle, and be left unmourned and unburied ( Jeremiah 22:18 .).