Bible Strands
Jeremiah 34:19
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,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah addresses the leadership and populace of Judah and Jerusalem during the Babylonian siege. He names the specific groups who participated in the covenant ritual to confront their collective guilt. The words — סָרִסִים (sa.ri.Sim) = court-officials and כֹּהֲנִים (Ko.ha.Nim) = priests appear in the list of officials who passed between the calf pieces. These terms identify the temple and royal administration bound by the oath. The thread — The assembly of officials and people making covenants appears in Jeremiah 34:10, while Zephaniah 3:3 and 2 Kings 24:12 record similar leadership groups facing divine judgment or surrender. The motif of sworn officials breaking their oaths runs through these passages. Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that religious and political leaders are equally accountable for covenant fidelity. It requires readers to understand that ritual participation without obedience triggers the stated judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 34:10 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,
- Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
- 2 Kings 24:12 Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive.
- 2 Kings 24:15 Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, as well as the king’s mother, his wives, his officials, and the leading men of the land. He took them into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 29:2 (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)
- Jeremiah 38:7 Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
- Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
- Daniel 9:6 We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, leaders, fathers, and all the people of the land.
- Daniel 9:12 You have carried out the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us a great disaster. For under all of heaven, nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.
- Micah 7:1 Woe is me! For I am like one gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.