34:18-20
The reference to a calf being cut in two is a reference to a covenant ratification ceremony, which the priests and officials may have performed when they did proclaim freedom for the slaves. These ceremonies warned of the consequences of breaking the covenant. The initial declaration of freedom was not a casual announcement, but a very solemn declaration. The covenant breakers would be delivered into the hands of the Babylonians and their dead bodies would become food for the birds and wild animals.
34:21-22
The Babylonian army had withdrawn, but this was only a temporary respite. God would give the order for the army to come back and fight against the city. Note that before this God says He is going to deliver Zedekiah and the officials into the hands of the Babylonians. The army is the means, it is God’s purposes which are behind all this. Judah is going to become a wasteland, this is God’s judgement upon the place.
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