Jeremiah 34

¹ God speak to me when king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and him army, wey soldiers from all the nations and race wey dey under him don support, dey attack Jerusalem and hin nearby towns.

² The LORD, God of Isreal, tell me make I go tell king Zedekiah of Judah say, “I, the LORD, go give this city to king of Babylonia, and him go burn am down.

³ You no go escape; dem do capture you and take you to him. You go see him face to face and you go follow him talk in person; then you go con go Babylonia.

⁴ Zedekiah, hear wetin I talk about you. You no go die for battle.

⁵ You go die in peace, and as people dey burn incense when dem bury your ancestors, wey be kings before you, na the same way dem go burn incense for you. Dem go mourn over you and dem go talk say, ‘Our king don die!’ I, the LORD, don talk.”

⁶ Then I give king Zedekiah this message for Jerusalem

⁷ As the army of king of Babylonia dey attack the city. The army dey also attack Lachish and Azekiah, the only other strong cities wey remain for Judah.

⁸ King Zedekiah and people of Jerusalem don make agreement to set their Hebrew slaves free,

⁹ both male and female wey be Hebrew, so that no one go get a fellow-Israelite as slave.

¹⁰ All the people and their leaders don agree say dem go set their slaves free and say dem no go ever take them as slaves again. Dem set them free for real,

¹¹ But dem later change their mind, take them back, and dem force them to become slaves again.

¹² Then the LORD,

¹³ God of Israel, tell me make I tell the people say: “I make covenant with una ancestors when I rescue them from Egypt and set them free as slave. I tell them say

¹⁴ Every seven years, make dem set any Hebrew slave wey don serve them for six years free. But una ancestors no gree pay attention to me or lisren to wetin I say.

¹⁵ Just few days ago una change una mind and una do wetin please me. All of una agree say una go set una fellow-Israelites free, and una make covenant for my presence, in the temple where una dey worship me.

¹⁶ But una change una mind again and dishonor me. All of una take back the slave wey una don set free as una like, and una force them to be slave again.

¹⁷ So now, I, the LORD, talk say una don disobey me: una no give una fellow-Israelite their freedom. Very well, I go give una freedom: freedom to die by war, disease, and hunger. I go shock every nation in the world with wetin I go do to una.

¹⁸ The official of Judah and Jerusalem, together with palace official, the priest, and all leaders, make covenant with me by walking between two halves of bull wey dem don cut into two.

¹⁹ But dem break the covenant and dem no keep the terms. So, I go do wetin dem do to the bull to this people.

²⁰ I go hand them over to their enemies, wey wan kill them and birds and wild animal go chop their dead body.

²¹ I go also hand over king Zedekiah of Judah and him official to those wey wan kill them. I go hand them over to Babylonian army, wey don stop hin attack against una.

²² I go give the order, and dem go come back to this city. Dem go attack am, capture am and burn am down. I go make towns of Judah be like desert where no one dey live. I, the LORD, don talk.”