Jeremiah - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 526

had released into freedom, to pollute I will deliver you to be scattered in all the kingdoms of the earth Z And I will deliver the men who broke My Hebrews. And all the nobles and people obeyed when the decree came out, and each sent their men slave or their female slave into free~· dom, so as never again to be enslaved ; they obeyed, and freed them. But

afterwards they turned and captured their male and female slaves whom they had released to freedom, and reduced them again to male and female slaves. Then a command came from the

EVER-r.1v1NG to Jeremiah to pro- claim :—- ‘ Thus says the EvER—L1v1NG

GOD of Israel! I made a Covenant I brought them from the land of the Mitzeraim,frorn the House of Slavery, ‘ You, however, repented the other

But now you have turned and pol· his male or female slave, whom you and degrade them to be your slaves the EvER·L1V1NG

as you have not obeyed Me to proclaim everyone liberty to to the sword, to plague, and to famine, and 35··~»-8 34-8 ]EREMIAH. }udah,-—··with Lakish and Akron, for these fortified towns were left to judah. 09:1 the §l1¤m Nwuliiimt nf §l¤hzrg. IO II I2 16 18 The command that came to ]ere·

miah from the EvER~L1v1NG, after King Zedekiah had made an agree- ment for all the people who were in jerusalem to proclaim them free; that everyone should liberate his man slave or his woman slave, who was a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, with your ancestors at the time when ordering, ‘ At the end of seven years you must each one release his en- slaved brother, whom you have bought. He shall serve you six years ;—·then you must send him from you into freedom! But your fathers would not listen to Me, nor incline their ears. day, and did right in My eyes by proclaiming liberty to each of your relatives, and you enacted a decree, over which My NAME was invoked. luted My NAME, and everyone seizes and slavesses. his brother, and each to his neigh·· Agreernent,——who did not stand by the terms of the Agreement which they made before Me,——by a heifer out in two, and they passing between the portions,—-—the nobles of judah, and the nobles of jerusalem, with cabinet ministers, and the priests, with all the army of the country, between the portions,——I will give them to the hand of their enemies; to the hand seeking their life,——and their carcases shall become food for the birds of the sky, and the beasts ofthe earth. I will also give Zede— kiah, king of judah, and his officers to the power of their enemies, to the hand that seeks their life, to the mighty hand of the king of Babel, who has gone away from you. I have says the to this city, and they will attack it, and capture, and burn it with fire, and I will make the towns of judah desolate, without inhabitants l izrzmiab Qirherzh in ldisit the dlzltahitrs, 20 21 22

The command that came from the 35 EvEa—L1v1Ne to jeremiah in the days of jhoiakim—ben~joshiah, king Go to the family of the Rekabites,and talk with them, and bring them to the House of the Even-L1vmG,to one ofthe chambers, and offer them wine to drink.’ I consequently took jazaniah-ben-

jeremiah—ben-Kabaziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole family of the Rekabites, and led them to the House of the EVER- Lzvme, to the chamber of the son of Hanan-ben-Igdaliah, the Man of GGD, who lodged in the chambers of the officers, which were above the chamber of Masiah—ben—Shalum the Warder of the Threshold. Then I set before the sons of the family of the Rekabites flagons full of wine, and cups and asked them to drink wine. But they replied, ‘We drink no wine! for jonadab—

ben—Rekab, our ancestor, gave us an order, saying, ‘You or your children shall not drink wine for ever! Nor shall you build houses or sow grain, 011 plant vineyards. That shall not be your business. But you shall live ln tents all your days ;—so that you may live long lives on the face of the ground where you are strangers! So we are obedient to the voice of 526