Jeremiah 34:7-9

Expanded Bible

⁷ This was while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that ·had not yet been taken [remained]—Lachish and Azekah [^Cfortress cities to the west of Jerusalem]. These were the only ·strong, walled [fortified] cities left in the land of Judah.

Slaves Are Mistreated

⁸ The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This was after King Zedekiah had ·made [^Lcut] an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with all the people in Jerusalem to ·free all the Hebrew slaves [^Lproclaim liberty/emancipation; Ex. 21:1–11; Lev. 25:39–46; Deut. 15:12–18]. ⁹ Everyone was supposed to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female. No one was to keep a fellow ·Jew [^LJudean] as a slave.