Jeremiah 34:19
New International Version
The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf,

New Living Translation
Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath.

English Standard Version
the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf.

Berean Standard Bible
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,

King James Bible
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;

New King James Version
the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—

New American Standard Bible
the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—

NASB 1995
the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—

NASB 1977
the officials of Judah, and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf—

Legacy Standard Bible
the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—

Amplified Bible
The princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the high officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf,

Christian Standard Bible
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—

Holman Christian Standard Bible
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

American Standard Version
the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, that passed between the parts of the calf;

English Revised 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;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
I will hand over the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the palace officials, the priests, and all the common people who passed between the pieces of the calf.

International Standard Version
the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf.

Majority Standard Bible
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,

NET Bible
I will punish the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the other people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf.

New Heart English Bible
the officials of Judah, and the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf;

Webster's Bible Translation
The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf;

World English Bible
the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
heads of Judah, and heads of Jerusalem, the officers, and the priests, and all the people of the land who had passed through between the pieces of the calf—

Young's Literal Translation
heads of Judah, and heads of Jerusalem, the officers, and the priests, and all the people of the land those passing through between the pieces of the calf --

Smith's Literal Translation
The chiefs of Judah, and the chiefs of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests, and all the people of the land passing between the parts of the calf.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The princes of Juda, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land that passed between the parts of the calf:

Catholic Public Domain Version
the leaders of Judah, and the leaders of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests, and all the people of the land, who have passed between the parts of the calf.

New American Bible
the princes of Judah and of Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf.

New Revised Standard Version
the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The Princes of Judea and of Jerusalem and Eunuchs and Priests and all the people of the land who passed between the halves of a calf
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the officers, and the priests, and all the people of the land, that passed between the parts of the calf;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
the princes of Juda, and the men in power, and the priests, and the people;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Freedom for Hebrew Slaves
18And those who have transgressed My covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces. 19The 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, 20I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.…

Cross References
Jeremiah 11:3-5
You must tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant, / which I commanded your forefathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey Me, and do everything I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God.’ / This was in order to establish the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is to this day.” “Amen, LORD,” I answered.

Jeremiah 22:2-5
saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates. / This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place. / For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their people. ...

Jeremiah 32:32-35
because of all the evil the children of Israel and of Judah have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings, their officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. / They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. / They have placed their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it. ...

Jeremiah 7:25-26
From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again. / Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.

Jeremiah 2:8
The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.

Ezekiel 22:26-31
Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. / Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain. / Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken. ...

Ezekiel 34:2-10
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? / You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock. / You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strays, or searched for the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. ...

Hosea 4:6-9
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. / The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace. / They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity. ...

Zephaniah 3:3-4
Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning. / Her prophets are reckless, faithless men. Her priests profane the sanctuary; they do violence to the law.

Malachi 2:7-9
For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts. / But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts. / “So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not kept My ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

Matthew 23:13-15
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

Matthew 23:23-28
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. / You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ...

Luke 11:42-44
Woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. / Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. / Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”

Luke 20:46-47
“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. / They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”

John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.


Treasury of Scripture

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;

princes.

Jeremiah 34:10
Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.

Ezekiel 22:27
Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

Daniel 9:6,8,12
Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land…

the eunuchs.

Jeremiah 29:2
(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

Jeremiah 38:7
Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;

2 Kings 24:12,15
And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign…

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Calf Court Eunuchs Heads Jerusalem Judah Leaders Officers Officials Parts Passed Passing Pieces Priests Princes Rulers Servants Unsexed Walked
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Calf Court Eunuchs Heads Jerusalem Judah Leaders Officers Officials Parts Passed Passing Pieces Priests Princes Rulers Servants Unsexed Walked
Jeremiah 34
1. Jeremiah prophesies the captivity of Zedekiah and the city.
8. The princes and the people having dismissed their bond-servants,
11. contrary to the covenant of God, re-assume them.
12. Jeremiah gives them and Zedekiah into the hands of their enemies.














The officials of Judah and Jerusalem
This phrase refers to the leaders and governing authorities of both the southern kingdom of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem. In the Hebrew context, "officials" (Hebrew: שָׂרִים, sarim) often denotes those in positions of power and responsibility. Historically, these leaders were expected to uphold the covenant with God and lead the people in righteousness. Their mention here underscores their accountability in the covenantal breach that Jeremiah is addressing.

The court officials
These individuals were part of the royal court, serving the king and managing the affairs of the kingdom. The Hebrew term for "court officials" (Hebrew: עֲבָדִים, avadim) can also mean "servants," indicating their role in executing the king's commands. Their inclusion highlights the widespread nature of the covenant violation, extending even to those who were supposed to be close advisors to the king.

The priests
The priests held a sacred duty to mediate between God and the people, offering sacrifices and teaching the law. In Hebrew, "priests" (כֹּהֲנִים, kohanim) were expected to be exemplars of holiness and obedience. Their failure to uphold the covenant is particularly grievous, as they were entrusted with maintaining the spiritual integrity of the nation.

All the people of the land
This phrase encompasses the general populace of Judah. The Hebrew term for "people" (עַם, am) signifies the collective community. The inclusion of "all the people" indicates that the covenant breach was not limited to the leaders but was a national issue, affecting every stratum of society.

Who passed between the pieces of the calf
This refers to an ancient covenant-making ritual, where parties would walk between the halves of a sacrificed animal, symbolizing the seriousness of the agreement and the consequences of breaking it. The imagery here is reminiscent of Genesis 15, where God makes a covenant with Abraham. The Hebrew word for "passed" (עָבְרוּ, avru) suggests a deliberate action, emphasizing the solemnity of the covenant they entered. This act was a vivid reminder that breaking the covenant would result in severe consequences, akin to the fate of the divided animal.

(19) The eunuchs.--See Note on Jeremiah 29:2. They were for the most part, if not always, of alien birth (comp. Isaiah 56:3), as in the case of Ebed-melech (Jeremiah 38:7), who had become proselytes on entering the king's service. The prominence given to them indicates that in Judah as in Assyria, and we may add, in all Oriental monarchies, they held high position in the king's court, and had probably, like the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, enriched themselves by lending money to the poorer Israelites, and then bringing them into bondage. It is significant that here they take precedence of the priests, as in Jeremiah 29:2 of the princes.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The officials
שָׂרֵ֨י (śā·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 8269: Chieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, prince

of Judah
יְהוּדָ֜ה (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

and Jerusalem,
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗ם (yə·rū·šā·lim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel

the court officials,
הַסָּֽרִסִים֙ (has·sā·ri·sîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5631: A eunuch, valet, a minister of state

the priests,
וְהַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים (wə·hak·kō·hă·nîm)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3548: Priest

and all
וְכֹ֖ל (wə·ḵōl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the people
עַ֣ם (‘am)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

of the land
הָאָ֑רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

who passed
הָעֹ֣בְרִ֔ים (hā·‘ō·ḇə·rîm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 5674: To pass over, through, or by, pass on

between
בֵּ֖ין (bên)
Preposition
Strong's 996: An interval, space between

the pieces
בִּתְרֵ֥י (biṯ·rê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1335: A part, piece

of the calf,
הָעֵֽגֶל׃ (hā·‘ê·ḡel)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5695: A, calf, one nearly grown


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 34:19 The princes of Judah and the princes (Jer.)
Jeremiah 34:18
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