Jeremiah 34:18
in Jeremiah 34And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, that have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in twain and passed between the parts thereof;
KJV
And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,
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This verse in Jeremiah 34
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWhen they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof - This was the ancient and most solemn way of making a covenant. 1. A calf as sacrifice was offered to God to secure his approbation and support. 2. The victim was then exactly divided from the nose to the rump; the spinal marrow being divided longitudinally, in the most careful manner, that the half of it might remain on each side. 3. These divided parts were laid opposite to each other, a passage being left between them.
This site's exposition
Therefore this is what the LORD
on Jeremiah 34:17-20
The LORD says, “So now I proclaim freedom for you,” and names it “freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine.” They had sealed the covenant by passing “between the pieces of the calf,” the rite of Genesis 15.
This site's exposition
like the calf they cut in two
The calf was cut in two and its pieces laid apart, and those making the covenant passed between them. Clarke describes the rite, and Henry says the calf was offered to God, making him a party to the covenant. Each man called on himself the fate of the calf.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
This prophecy concerning Zedekiah was delivered to Jeremiah, and by him to the parties concerned, before he was shut up in the prison, for we find this prediction here made the ground of his commitment, as appears by the recital of some passages out of it, ch. xxxii.
) with this dreadful imprecation, "Let us be in like manner cut asunder if we do not perform what we now promise." This calf was probably offered up in sacrifice to God, who was thereby made a party to the covenant.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
, " I will make the men which have transgressed my covenant as the calf which they cut in twain; I will divide them asunder as they divided it asunder." 4.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
passed between the parts thereof--The contracting parties in the "covenant" (not here the law in general, but their covenant made before God in His house to emancipate their slaves, Jer 34:8, 9) passed through the parts of the animal cut in two, implying that they prayed so to be cut in sunder (Mt 24:51; Greek, "cut in two") if they should break the covenant (Ge 15:10, 17).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
behold I proclaim freedom to you from Me, that I am not your master to save you, and you shall be free to the sword and to the famine.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתִּ֣י | venatati | and I will make | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֗ים | haanashim | the people | H582 → | 566 times |
| הָעֹֽבְרִים֙ | haoerim | who have transgressed | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִתִ֔י | beriti | covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הֵקִ֙ימוּ֙ | hekimu | they have carried out | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֣י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַבְּרִ֔ית | haberit | the covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּרְת֖וּ | karetu | they made | H3772 → | 288 times |
| לְפָנָ֑י | lefanai | <to> before me | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָעֵ֙גֶל֙ | haegel | the calf | H5695 → | 35 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּרְת֣וּ | karetu | they cut | H3772 → | 288 times |
| לִשְׁנַ֔יִם | lishnayim | into two [pieces] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| וַיַּעַבְר֖וּ | vaiyaavru | and they passed | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| בְּתָרָֽיו׃ | betarav | pieces its | H1335 → |
וְנָתַתִּ֣יand I will make
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֗יםthe people
haanashimH582 →566 times
הָעֹֽבְרִים֙who have transgressed
haoerimH5674 →556 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִתִ֔יcovenant my
beritiH1285 →284 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הֵקִ֙ימוּ֙they have carried out
hekimuH6965 →628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דִּבְרֵ֣י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
הַבְּרִ֔יתthe covenant
haberitH1285 →284 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּרְת֖וּthey made
karetuH3772 →288 times
לְפָנָ֑י<to> before me
lefanaiH6440 →2123 times
הָעֵ֙גֶל֙the calf
haegelH5695 →35 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּרְת֣וּthey cut
karetuH3772 →288 times
לִשְׁנַ֔יִםinto two [pieces]
lishnayimH8147 →768 times
וַיַּעַבְר֖וּand they passed
vaiyaavruH5674 →556 times
בֵּ֥יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
בְּתָרָֽיו׃pieces its
betaravH1335 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 6:7But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
it leads to
- Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 3:11
“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
- Hosea 5:7
They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.
- Job 31:33
if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,
- Hosea 8:1
Through
Hosea 8:1Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
it leads to
- Hosea 6:7
But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
- Deuteronomy 28:49
The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Hosea 6:7
Through
Genesis 15:10So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 34:18–19
And 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…
- Leviticus 1:17
He shall tear it open by its wings, without dividing the bird completely. And the priest is to burn it on the altar atop the burning wood. It is a burnt offering, an offering…
- Jeremiah 34:18–19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.