Jeremiah 34:17

So I, the Lord, say: “You have not really obeyed me and granted freedom to your neighbor and fellow countryman. ¹  Therefore, I will grant you freedom, the freedom ²  to die in war, or by starvation or disease. I, the Lord, affirm it! ³  I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified at what happens to you. ⁴ 

Le 26:34,35; De 19:19; De 28:25,64; Jud 1:6,7; Es 7:10; Jer 15:2; Jer 15:4; Jer 21:7; Jer 24:9,10; Jer 24:10; Jer 29:18; Jer 32:24,36; Jer 47:6,7; La 1:8; Eze 14:17-21; Da 6:24; Mt 7:2; Lu 6:37,38; Ga 6:7; Jas 2:13; Re 16:6

¹ tn The Hebrew text has a compound object, the two terms of which have been synonyms in vv. 14, 15. G. L. Keown, P. J. Scalise, and T. G. Smothers (Jeremiah 26-52 [WBC], 189) make the interesting observation that these two terms (Heb “brother” and “neighbor”) emphasize the relationships that should have taken precedence over their being viewed as mere slaves.

² sn This is, of course, a metaphorical and ironical use of the term “to grant freedom to.” It is, however, a typical statement of the concept of talionic justice which is quite often operative in God’s judgments in the OT (cf., e.g., Obad 15).

³ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

⁴ sn Compare Jer 15:4; 24:9; 29:18.