Jeremiah 34

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control, and all the other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities.

1 Este es el mensaje del Señor que llegó a Jeremías cuando Nabucodonosor, rey de Babilonia, y todos sus ejércitos de todos los reinos que gobernaba, llegaron a combatir contra Jerusalén y las ciudades de Judá:

2 The LORD, the God of Israel, told Jeremiah to go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him that this is what the LORD says: “Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.

2 Ve y dile a Sedequías, rey de Judá, que el Señor dice así: Entregaré esta ciudad al rey de Babilonia y él la tomará e incendiará.

3 And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.

3 Tú no escaparás; serás capturado y llevado ante el rey de Babilonia el cual te sentenciará y serás desterrado a Babilonia.

4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the LORD says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;

4 Pero escucha esto, Sedequías, rey de Judá: El Señor dice que no caerás en la matanza de la guerra,

5 you will die in peace. As spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you, so people will burn spices for you and lament, ‘Alas, O master!’ For I Myself have spoken this word, declares the LORD.”

5 sino que morirás tranquilamente y con honor entre tu pueblo, y ellos quemarán incienso en recuerdo tuyo, así como hicieron por tu padre. Llorarán por ti y dirán: «¡Ay, nuestro rey ha muerto!». Así lo he decretado, dice el Señor.

6 In Jerusalem, then, Jeremiah the prophet relayed all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah

6 Así dio Jeremías el mensaje al rey Sedequías.

7 as the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the remaining cities of Judah—against Lachish and Azekah. For these were the only fortified cities remaining in Judah.

7 Por entonces el ejército babilónico sitiaba a Jerusalén, Laquis y Azeca, las únicas ciudades amuralladas de Judá que aún quedaban en pie.

8 After King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty, the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD

8 Este es el mensaje del Señor que llegó a Jeremías después de que el rey Sedequías de Judá había libertado a todos los esclavos de Jerusalén.

9 that each man should free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and no one should hold his fellow Jew in bondage.

9 (El rey Sedequías había ordenado a todos que se diera libertad a sus esclavos hebreos, hombres y mujeres. Había dicho que ningún judío debía ser amo de otro judío, pues todos eran hermanos.

10 So all the officials and all the people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their menservants and maidservants and no longer hold them in bondage. They obeyed and released them,

10 Los príncipes y todo el pueblo habían obedecido el mandado del rey y liberado sus esclavos, pero eso fue sólo temporal.

11 but later they changed their minds and took back the menservants and maidservants they had freed, and they forced them to become slaves again.

11 Cambiaron de sentir y volvieron a esclavizar a sus siervos.

12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

12 Fue por eso que el Señor dio el siguiente mensaje a Jerusalén).

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

13 El Señor, el Dios de Israel, dice: Con sus antepasados establecí un convenio hace mucho cuando los liberé de su esclavitud en Egipto.

14 Every seventh year, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free. But your fathers did not listen or incline their ear.

14 Les dije que todo esclavo hebreo debe ser liberado luego de servir seis años, pero no lo hicieron así.

15 Recently you repented and did what pleased Me; each of you proclaimed freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me in the house that bears My Name.

15 Recientemente comenzaron a proceder correctamente, como se lo había ordenado, y liberaron a sus esclavos. Solemnemente me habían prometido en mi templo que lo harían.

16 But now you have changed your minds and profaned My name. Each of you has taken back the menservants and maidservants whom you had set at liberty to go wherever they wanted, and you have again forced them to be your slaves.

16 Pero ahora rehúsan cumplir, y han mancillado mi fama quebrantando su juramento y los han vuelto a esclavizar.

17 Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

17 Por lo tanto, dice el Señor, como no quieren escucharme y liberarlos, yo los entregaré al poder de la muerte mediante la guerra, el hambre y la enfermedad. Y los esparciré por todo el mundo como exiliados.

18 And those who have transgressed My covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.

18–19 Como han rechazado los términos de nuestro convenio, yo los descuartizaré como descuartizaron el becerro para pasar por en medio de las dos mitades como acto solemne para simbolizar sus votos. ¡Sí, los entregaré a la matanza, ya sean príncipes, dignatarios de la corte, sacerdotes o del común del pueblo, porque han quebrantado su juramento!

19 The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf,

20 I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.

20 Los entregaré a sus enemigos y los matarán. Daré sus cadáveres como alimento a los buitres y a las fieras.

21 And I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives, to the army of the king of Babylon that had withdrawn from you.

21 Y entregaré a Sedequías, rey de Judá, y a sus dignatarios en manos del ejército del rey de Babilonia, aunque este se ha alejado de la ciudad por breve tiempo.

22 Behold, I am going to give the command, declares the LORD, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”

22 Volveré a llamar a los ejércitos de Babilonia que lucharán contra esta ciudad, la tomarán y la incendiarán. Y yo me encargaré de que las ciudades de Judá sean totalmente destruidas y queden desoladas, sin persona viva.