Chapter 34 of Yirmiyahu is divided into two parts. In its first part is a personal prophecy to Tzidkiyahu, king of Yehudah, at a time when Nevuchadrezzar and his entire army were already approaching to besiege Yerushalayim: the city will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and the king himself will be captured and exiled, yet he will merit dying upon his bed and being mourned with honor. In its second part is a distinct episode: a covenant that Tzidkiyahu forged with the people to emancipate the Hebrew slaves, the swift violation of that covenant, and the severe punishment that followed in its wake. We will proceed according to the order of the pesukim and explain them according to the Malbim, Rashi, and the Radak.
הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־הָיָה אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ מֵאֵת יְהֹוָה וּנְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל וְכׇל־חֵילוֹ וְכׇל־מַמְלְכוֹת אֶרֶץ מֶמְשֶׁלֶת יָדוֹ וְכׇל־הָעַמִּים נִלְחָמִים עַל־יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וְעַל־כׇּל־עָרֶיהָ לֵאמֹר׃ - The word that came to Yirmiyahu from Hashem, when Nevuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the peoples were warring against Yerushalayim and against all its cities, saying:
The prophecy was spoken at a time when Nevuchadrezzar, his army, all the kingdoms of the land under his rule, and all the nations were already approaching to lay siege to Yerushalayim and all its cities.
כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָלֹךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל־צִדְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה הִנְנִי נֹתֵן אֶת־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת בְּיַד מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל וּשְׂרָפָהּ בָּאֵשׁ׃ - So said Hashem, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah, and you shall say to him, So said Hashem: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
There is a repetition here: "Go and speak" and afterward "and you shall say to him." The Malbim explains: first the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded him to say the prophecy to the people, and afterward He commanded him to say it to Tzidkiyahu himself.
And here lies a fascinating point. We saw earlier that when Yirmiyahu said these words to the people, they imprisoned him in the court of the guard and accused him of demoralizing the people: you are causing them to lose faith in redemption, thereby leading them to slacken in fighting the nations, and you are breaking morale. Yet when the prophecy was conveyed to Tzidkiyahu himself, he did not mind at all. On the contrary, recall: after Tzidkiyahu imprisoned Yirmiyahu, what did he ask him? "Is there any word from Hashem?" He imprisons him for prophesying to the people, and immediately afterward seeks to hear from him what Hashem has said. He believes in him with complete faith and knows that he is a prophet of Hashem; he only insists that under no circumstances should he go and say this to the people, so as not to weaken their resolve. And incidentally, Chazal say that Tzidkiyahu was a righteous king, and it was only his generation that was wicked.
וְאַתָּה לֹא תִמָּלֵט מִיָּדוֹ כִּי תָּפֹשׂ תִּתָּפֵשׂ וּבְיָדוֹ תִּנָּתֵן וְעֵינֶיךָ אֶת־עֵינֵי מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל תִּרְאֶינָה וּפִיהוּ אֶת־פִּיךָ יְדַבֵּר וּבָבֶל תָּבוֹא׃ - And you will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and given into his hand; and your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth will speak with your mouth, and to Babylon you shall come.
He tells him: you will not be killed, but rather captured and brought to Babylon, and the king of Babylon will speak with you. And what was that "speech"? Harsh words. Indeed, Nevuchadnetzar judged him strictly: for publicizing that he had seen him eating a live rabbit, and for violating the oath he had sworn to him not to rebel against him, having risen and rebelled.
Chazal derived a precise insight from the phrasing: "and your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon" - you will see his eyes, but not Babylon. For after they brought him before him and he passed judgment on him face to face, he gouged out his eyes. This resolves the seeming contradiction with the other prophecy spoken to him: "and to Babylon he shall bring him, yet he shall not see it." Tzidkiyahu wondered: how could this be? If I come to Babylon, surely I will see it. Only at the end, after his eyes were blinded, did it become clear to him that both prophecies had been fulfilled together: to Babylon I came, yet I did not see it.
אַךְ שְׁמַע דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה צִדְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה עָלֶיךָ לֹא תָמוּת בֶּחָרֶב׃ - Yet hear the word of Hashem, O Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah; thus said Hashem concerning you: You shall not die by the sword.
Here he is given consolation: even though you will be captured and exiled, you will not die by the sword. The catastrophe came about because of the iniquity of the generation, for Tzidkiyahu himself was a righteous king. And this point is crucial: one who is put to death by the king's sword is not eulogized, for victims executed by the monarchy are not mourned publicly. Why? Because delivering a eulogy is seen, as it were, as a rebellion against the king: the king decided to execute him, and you come along and speak of how righteous and extraordinary he was, implying that he did not deserve death, thereby defying the king. Such a person would be executed as well. But here Tzidkiyahu is told: you will not die by the king's sword, but rather a natural death, and therefore they will eulogize you.
בְּשָׁלוֹם תָּמוּת וּכְמִשְׂרְפוֹת אֲבוֹתֶיךָ הַמְּלָכִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים אֲשֶׁר־הָיוּ לְפָנֶיךָ כֵּן יִשְׂרְפוּ־לָךְ וְהוֹי אָדוֹן יִסְפְּדוּ־לָךְ כִּי־דָבָר אֲנִי־דִבַּרְתִּי נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה׃ - You shall die in peace; and as with the burnings for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so shall they burn for you, and they will lament for you, 'Ah, master!' For I have spoken the word, says Hashem.
"You shall die in peace." Chazal teach that Nevuchadnezzar died during Tzidkiyahu's lifetime. Throughout the reign of Nevuchadnezzar, prisoners were never released from captivity; the very concept of prisoner release or royal pardon did not exist, for Nevuchadnezzar was a fearsome, terrifying, and merciless king. Only after his death were prisoners released, and then Tzidkiyahu was freed from prison and passed away the very next day. The prophecy was fulfilled in him that he would not die by the sword but of natural causes, and because of this, "and they will lament for you, 'Ah, master!'" - they would eulogize him with honor.
And what is the meaning of "and as with the burnings for your fathers"? There are two explanations. According to Chazal, when a king died, they would burn all his personal utensils and belongings so that no one else would use them, as it is unfitting for a king's dignity that a commoner use his possessions. Nor would the successor king use them, since the new king has his own royal garments and utensils and does not use second-hand items. A second explanation is brought by the Radak: they would burn spices and blended fragrances over the royal bier so that a pleasant scent would rise. One must understand that in their time, when carrying out the deceased, people would often keep their distance from the bier due to the odor. Nowadays, the body is kept refrigerated until burial and does not begin to decompose, but in those days, if someone died at night and was buried the next day at midday, a bad odor would sometimes already emanate from the body. Therefore, it was customary to place myrtle and spices upon the bier, and for kings, they would blend and burn fragrances over their bier, generating a pleasant aroma.
וַיְדַבֵּר יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא אֶל־צִדְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה אֵת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם׃ - Then Yirmeyahu the prophet spoke all these words to Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah, in Yerushalayim.
As we explained: here the mission was to speak these words directly to Tzidkiyahu, not to proclaim them to the people.
וְחֵיל מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל נִלְחָמִים עַל־יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וְעַל כׇּל־עָרֵי יְהוּדָה הַנּוֹתָרוֹת אֶל־לָכִישׁ וְאֶל־עֲזֵקָה כִּי הֵנָּה נִשְׁאֲרוּ בְּעָרֵי יְהוּדָה עָרֵי מִבְצָר׃ - And the army of the king of Bavel was fighting against Yerushalayim and against all the remaining cities of Yehudah, against Lakhish and against Azekah, for these remained of the cities of Yehudah as fortified cities.
Lakhish and Azekah remained as fortified cities, in addition to Yerushalayim itself.
הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר־הָיָה אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ מֵאֵת יְהֹוָה אַחֲרֵי כְּרֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ צִדְקִיָּהוּ בְּרִית אֶת־כׇּל־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם לִקְרֹא לָהֶם דְּרוֹר׃ - The word that came to Yirmeyahu from Hashem, after King Tzidkiyahu had made a covenant with all the people who were in Yerushalayim, to proclaim liberty to them:
לְשַׁלַּח אִישׁ אֶת־עַבְדּוֹ וְאִישׁ אֶת־שִׁפְחָתוֹ הָעִבְרִי וְהָעִבְרִיָּה חׇפְשִׁים לְבִלְתִּי עֲבׇד־בָּם בִּיהוּדִי אָחִיהוּ אִישׁ׃ - That each man should let his Hebrew manservant and Hebrew maidservant go free, so that no one should hold a fellow Judean in servitude.
In the seventh year of his reign, Tzidkiyahu made a covenant with all the people to proclaim liberty to the slaves, meaning to free them from their servitude. This referred exclusively to a Hebrew slave, who was held in servitude by his fellow Israelite brother.
Our Sages recount that men from the elders of Yehudah came to inquire of Hashem and argued as follows: If a kohen's slave is sold by his master, may he still eat terumah? For Scripture states, "and a slave... acquired by his money, he may eat of it," so a kohen's slave eats terumah just like the kohen himself. They asked: If the kohen sells him to an Israelite or to a gentile, does he still eat terumah? He told them: Certainly not. And what did they mean by their question? They intended to argue that the Holy One, Blessed be He, could no longer make claims against them, for He had, as it were, sold us to Nevuchadnetzar, and if so, we are no longer subjugated to Him and He has no claims upon us. In response to this, they were told that they must release all their slaves.
The king then made a covenant with the people to proclaim liberty to the slaves. He instituted two ordinances: first, "that every man should let his manservant... go free," releasing immediately all the slaves in their possession even if they had not yet completed their six years of servitude; and second, "that none should make bondmen of them, of a Yehudi his brother," which applied to the future, that they should not subjugate them henceforth and should no longer purchase Hebrew slaves.
וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ כׇל־הַשָּׂרִים וְכׇל־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר־בָּאוּ בַבְּרִית לְשַׁלַּח אִישׁ אֶת־עַבְדּוֹ וְאִישׁ אֶת־שִׁפְחָתוֹ חׇפְשִׁים לְבִלְתִּי עֲבׇד־בָּם עוֹד וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ וַיְשַׁלֵּחוּ׃ - "And all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant hearkened, that every man should let his manservant and every man his maidservant go free, that none should make bondmen of them any more; they hearkened and let them go."
The Malbim explains the repetition of "hearkened": the first hearing was that they entered the covenant and took it upon themselves; the second hearing was that they fulfilled it in practice, both regarding the past, by no longer holding onto the slaves in their possession, and regarding the future, by not enslaving them anew and not buying other slaves. Only then did they truly "let them go."
וַיָּשׁוּבוּ אַחֲרֵי־כֵן וַיָּשִׁבוּ אֶת־הָעֲבָדִים וְאֶת־הַשְּׁפָחוֹת אֲשֶׁר שִׁלְּחוּ חׇפְשִׁים וַיִּכְבְּשׁוּם לַעֲבָדִים וְלִשְׁפָחוֹת׃ - "But afterward they turned back, and brought back the servants and the handmaids whom they had let go free, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids."
Afterward, they regretted it. A person wakes up in the morning and needs someone to prepare water for washing his hands, someone to iron his clothes, someone to work in his field. Hiring day laborers costs a great deal of money. He said to himself: How foolish I was to send my slave away, when I had someone to do all of this! What did they do? They turned around and subjugated them again as bondmen and bondwomen. The word kibush (subjection) here means holding onto something by force, as in the rabbinic phrase hachovesh sechar sachir (withholding a hired worker's wages), keeping it in one's possession and refusing to yield it. They had already set them free, yet they seized them again by force, which is an outright form of theft.
The Malbim asks: Why enact such an ordinance at this precise moment? After all, they were under siege, on the verge of conquest, which is hardly a time for social enactments, but rather a time when everyone is fighting for survival. The Malbim explains: In that era, many of the poor were heavily indebted to the wealthy, as vast class disparities existed, and when a person could not repay his debt, he was taken as a slave. Now, during the siege, Tzidkiyahu grew deeply concerned that these subjugated people would feel they had nothing to lose and would join hands with the invaders conquering Jerusalem, acting as a fifth column to help the enemy in order to free themselves from their masters.
The Malbim notes that this also occurred among the Romans in ancient times: during war, they were compelled to proclaim liberty to those enslaved for debt in order to quell rebellion, as is well known in ancient history. For an enslaved person says to himself: I have nothing to lose; here I am enslaved and tormented, but if the enemy enters I will be free, and what is more, if I assist him, he might even grant me a post or a rank, which is surely better than my current plight.
Ultimately, they realized they could not manage without them, so they turned back and took them by force. The Malbim observes that they sinned in two ways: First, they had sworn an oath and forged a covenant, and now they were violating that covenant and oath, which is far graver than the mere act of taking someone as a slave. Second, the moment they freed them, they effectively relinquished the debt; by re-enslaving them, it became outright theft, the kidnapping of human beings, which is one of the prohibitions in the Ten Commandments, "You shall not steal," which our Sages explain refers to kidnapping persons.
וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ מֵאֵת יְהֹוָה לֵאמֹר׃ - And the word of the Lord came to Yirmeyahu from the Lord, saying:
כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָנֹכִי כָּרַתִּי בְרִית אֶת־אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם בְּיוֹם הוֹצִאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים לֵאמֹר׃ - So said the Lord, God of Israel: I made a covenant with your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying:
Regarding what was mentioned earlier that the word of the Lord came to Yirmeyahu, scripture now details what that word was. Chazal say: When the Holy One, blessed be He, brought Israel out of Egypt, He made a covenant with them that they should not enslave their brothers, as it is stated, "For to Me the Children of Israel are servants" - they are My servants, and not servants to servants, so that a Jew should never have the status of a slave.
מִקֵּץ שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים תְּשַׁלְּחוּ אִישׁ אֶת־אָחִיו הָעִבְרִי אֲשֶׁר־יִמָּכֵר לְךָ וַעֲבָדְךָ שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים וְשִׁלַּחְתּוֹ חׇפְשִׁי מֵעִמָּךְ וְלֹא־שָׁמְעוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם אֵלַי וְלֹא הִטּוּ אֶת־אׇזְנָם׃ - At the end of seven years each of you shall release his Hebrew brother who was sold to you; he shall serve you six years, and then you shall set him free from you; but your ancestors did not listen to Me, nor did they incline their ear.
A question arises here: After how many years is the servant set free? Six years, and in the seventh he is already free. If so, what does "at the end [miketz] of seven years" mean? The Metzudat David explains simply: A rope has two ends (ketzot), and the beginning is also an end. So too with a year: its beginning is an end and its finish is an end. "Miketz sheva shanim" means from the beginning of the seventh year, since the beginning is also termed a katzeh (extremity/end).
To be sure, miketz is also used for the end of a period, such as "at the end of two full years" (miketz shenatayim yamim) regarding Yosef. However, the subject matter itself proves this case: it cannot possibly mean the end of seven years, because the Torah explicitly states six years. Moreover, the verse itself immediately clarifies: "he shall serve you six years," so that no one could claim that something became distorted between the Torah and the Book of Yirmeyahu. Six years - meaning until the start of the seventh. Thus, the prophet comes and tells them: I commanded this in the Torah, that one cannot enslave a Hebrew servant indefinitely, but only for six years, and then he must be released.
וַתָּשֻׁבוּ אַתֶּם הַיּוֹם וַתַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת־הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינַי לִקְרֹא דְרוֹר אִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ וַתִּכְרְתוּ בְרִית לְפָנַי בַּבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר־נִקְרָא שְׁמִי עָלָיו׃ - And you repented today and did what was right in My eyes, to proclaim liberty every man to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before Me in the House upon which My Name is called.
He tells them: Now you have repented and done what is right in My eyes by proclaiming liberty to them. What is more, you did even more than the Torah required, for you proclaimed freedom to them even before the six years were up, at a stage when you were still permitted to keep them in service. Therefore it says, "what was right in My eyes," which is beyond the strict letter of the law - not merely what you were obligated to do, but beyond that. Furthermore, "and you made a covenant" - you reinforced it with an oath, in the House upon which My Name is called.
וַתָּשֻׁבוּ וַתְּחַלְּלוּ אֶת־שְׁמִי וַתָּשִׁבוּ אִישׁ אֶת־עַבְדּוֹ וְאִישׁ אֶת־שִׁפְחָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר־שִׁלַּחְתֶּם חׇפְשִׁים לְנַפְשָׁם וַתִּכְבְּשׁוּ אֹתָם לִהְיוֹת לָכֶם לַעֲבָדִים וְלִשְׁפָחוֹת׃ - But you turned back and desecrated My Name, and each of you took back his manservant and maidservant whom you had sent away free at their desire, and you subjugated them to be your slaves and maidservants.
You committed a double evil. First, "and desecrated My Name" - for you swore in the Name of the Lord and then did the opposite, and there is no greater Chillul Hashem (desecration of God's Name) than this. Second, "and each of you took back his manservant... and you subjugated them" - which is outright theft, the robbery of a human soul.
לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה אַתֶּם לֹא־שְׁמַעְתֶּם אֵלַי לִקְרֹא דְרוֹר אִישׁ לְאָחִיו וְאִישׁ לְרֵעֵהוּ הִנְנִי קֹרֵא לָכֶם דְּרוֹר נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה אֶל־הַחֶרֶב אֶל־הַדֶּבֶר וְאֶל־הָרָעָב וְנָתַתִּי אֶתְכֶם לְזַעֲוָה לְכֹל מַמְלְכוֹת הָאָרֶץ׃ - Therefore, thus said Hashem: You have not listened to Me to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother and every man to his fellow; behold, I proclaim liberty for you - declares Hashem - to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine, and I will make you a shuddering horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
You will not proclaim liberty to the slaves? I will proclaim liberty to tribulations, that they be free to come and strike you. You want to be masters over slaves? I am not willing to be Master over such a people. When there is a master, he protects you; but when there is no master, everything is scattered. Therefore: I am not a Master to you, and consequently the sword, pestilence, and famine have free rein, and they will turn you into an object of horror.
And what is za'avah? It is an expression of movement, from the root za' (to shake or stir). Here it is written (the ketiv) as lezav'ah and read (the keri) as leza'avah. This follows the same linguistic principle found in keves and kesev (lamb), salmah and simlah (garment), and kahal and lahak (assembly and group, from which we get makhelah and lahakah). It is the same word with an inverted letter order, and both expressions are accurate and fitting. When one delves into the depth of Lashon HaKodesh, one understands why each letter was placed where it was; however, these are profound matters, not all of which are known to us, and today we possess only crumbs from the true depth of Lashon HaKodesh.
The Malbim explains the profound concept here: A servant of Hashem alone is free. As Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi famously phrased it: "The servants of time are slaves of slaves, while the servant of Hashem alone is free." One who is a slave to his desires is a slave of slaves - spending his entire life running and striving, feeling he must buy this and must have that. A servant of Hashem, by contrast, is not bound by any of these things.
This can be illustrated by a parable: An addict comes over and says, "Do you know what drugs feel like? It's incredible!" You reply, "Baruch Hashem, I have no need for that." He asks, "But if you had it, you would feel so happy - aren't you envious of me?" "Not envious at all, thank you very much; I gladly forfeit that 'happiness' and that 'pleasure.'" The result is that you are free, while he is a slave. It seems to him that he is free because he is on a high, but he is entirely enslaved: Can he manage without the drug? When the craving hits, he will follow whoever crosses his path. And while one who does not take it is not on a high, he does not need it at all, and Baruch Hashem, he is truly free.
This does not refer to basic necessities. A person must have a roof over his head, and a person must have bread to eat. But someone who insists on having a luxury vehicle, and must then finance the insurance and the fuel, and is forced to work overtime, becomes a slave to those very things. When a person chases luxuries and feels he cannot live without them, he is subjugated. One who has no need for them is in a far better state. This is the quality of a servant of Hashem: he is free from the worldly desires of this world. But when one steps outside the domain of Hashem, that is where complications begin, and all worldly matters can assert control over him. That is why He said: "I proclaim liberty to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine" - because the moment you leave Hashem's protection, you are inherently exposed to all the afflictions of the world.
וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־הָאֲנָשִׁים הָעֹבְרִים אֶת־בְּרִתִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא־הֵקִימוּ אֶת־דִּבְרֵי הַבְּרִית אֲשֶׁר כָּרְתוּ לְפָנָי הָעֵגֶל אֲשֶׁר כָּרְתוּ לִשְׁנַיִם וַיַּעַבְרוּ בֵּין בְּתָרָיו׃ - And I will give over the men who transgressed My covenant, who did not uphold the words of the covenant which they made before Me, [like] the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts.
Rashi explains that it was not enough that they transgressed their covenant; they actually cut a calf in two and passed between its pieces in order to rebel against Him. This is astounding: not only did they violate the first covenant, they actively made a new covenant to establish the transgression itself.
This was the ancient method of sealing a covenant, which functioned like a contract: they would slaughter a calf or a bird - as we find with Avraham Avinu - cut it in two, and pass between the parts, which is the source of the term Bris Bein HaBetarim (the Covenant Between the Parts). Here too: "the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts" - they formed a new covenant to transgress the word of Hashem and re-enslave the servants. Passing between the pieces was not merely symbolic; it was the equivalent of signing a contract today. A person cannot claim, "I only signed symbolically"; signing a contract creates a binding legal document. Likewise in their time, making the covenant was a binding legal act.
The Malbim, however, explains differently: it does not mean they formed a new covenant to transgress the word of Hashem, but rather that the Holy One, blessed be He, brings two distinct claims against them. "Those who transgressed My covenant" refers to the Torah, as it is written, "Were it not for My covenant day and night, I would not have set the statutes of heaven and earth" - for it is already commanded in the Torah not to keep a servant beyond six years, and this you violated. "Who did not uphold the words of the covenant which they made before Me" refers to the covenant you yourselves initiated to release the male and female servants, and that too you violated.
שָׂרֵי יְהוּדָה וְשָׂרֵי יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם הַסָּרִסִים וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְכֹל עַם הָאָרֶץ הָעֹבְרִים בֵּין בִּתְרֵי הָעֵגֶל׃ - The princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the officers and the priests and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf.
וְנָתַתִּי אוֹתָם בְּיַד אֹיְבֵיהֶם וּבְיַד מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשָׁם וְהָיְתָה נִבְלָתָם לְמַאֲכָל לְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְבֶהֱמַת הָאָרֶץ׃ - I will deliver them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life, and their carcasses shall become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.
All of these passed between the parts of the calf, meaning they were partners in forging the covenant. And why will their carcasses become food for the birds of the sky? Measure for measure: corresponding to the fact that they passed between the carcass of the calf, their own carcasses will become food for the birds of the sky. The Malbim notes with precision: "I will deliver them into the hand of their enemies" corresponds to their violation of the covenant of the Torah, and "their carcasses shall become food" corresponds to their violation of the covenant that they themselves forged when passing between the parts of the calf.
וְאֶת־צִדְקִיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה וְאֶת־שָׂרָיו אֶתֵּן בְּיַד אֹיְבֵיהֶם וּבְיַד מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשָׁם וּבְיַד חֵיל מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל הָעֹלִים מֵעֲלֵיכֶם׃ - And Tzidkiyahu king of Judah and his princes I will deliver into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, who have withdrawn from against you.
"Into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life" refers to the hand of Nevuchadnetzar. Yet ostensibly one might wonder: Tzidkiyahu himself was upright, and acted here in an appropriate manner, for he was the one who initiated the forging of the covenant for the good; he was not among those encouraging slavery, but quite the contrary, he aroused people against it. Why then should he be punished? The Malbim explains: it was within his power to protest and he did not protest, and anyone who has the power to protest and does not protest is held responsible for the sin of the generation. Therefore, Tzidkiyahu was punished.
And what is the meaning of "who have withdrawn from against you" [literally, "going up from upon you"], when it should have said "who are coming up against you"? "Going up from upon you" means clearing out and departing from you. Rashi explains: indeed, that is so. For when the king of Egypt came to wage war against them, the Chaldeans left Jerusalem and went to fight against Pharaoh's army, and at that moment they indeed withdrew from against them. Afterward they returned, but at that specific time they had withdrawn.
הִנְנִי מְצַוֶּה נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה וַהֲשִׁבֹתִים אֶל־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת וְנִלְחֲמוּ עָלֶיהָ וּלְכָדוּהָ וּשְׂרָפֻהָ בָאֵשׁ וְאֶת־עָרֵי יְהוּדָה אֶתֵּן שְׁמָמָה מֵאֵין יוֹשֵׁב׃ - Behold, I command, says Hashem, and I will bring them back to this city; and they shall fight against it, capture it, and burn it with fire; and the cities of Judah I will make a desolation, without inhabitant.
He tells them: even though they are withdrawing from against you now, do not rely upon this. The army of King Pharaoh will return to its land, and the Chaldeans will come back against you, fight against you, capture and burn the city, and the cities of Judah will be made a desolation, without inhabitant.
The chapter opens with a personal prophecy to Tzidkiyahu: the city will be burned, and he will be captured and brought to Babylon; he will see the eyes of the king of Babylon but not Babylon itself, yet he will die in peace and be granted an elegy and a memorial burning like the burnings of the kings before him, for he was a righteous king and it was the sin of the generation that tipped the scale. Afterward comes the episode of the covenant of emancipation: Tzidkiyahu and the entire nation forged a covenant to emancipate the Hebrew slaves, and they even went beyond the letter of the law by freeing them before the completion of six years, but immediately turned back and subjugated them by force. In doing so they sinned twofold: a desecration of Hashem's Name by violating an oath, and the theft of human beings by re-enslaving them. And measure for measure: you did not proclaim liberty to your brethren, so I proclaim liberty to the sword, to the pestilence, and to famine. For a servant of Hashem alone is truly free, and the moment a person leaves the protective hand of his Master in Heaven, all the afflictions of the world are capable of overpowering him.