Jeremiah 34:19

“The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, etc.] Here is a particular enumeration of the persons that had made the covenant, and transgressed it, and that should suffer for so doing; the princes of Judah, distinguished from the princes of Jerusalem, design such princes as lived without Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, and presided over them, though now at Jerusalem, having fled thither, upon the invasion of the king of Babylon, for their safety; as the princes of Jerusalem, or the magistrates of that city, are distinguished from the princes of the blood, and from the courtiers, both in this and (<243421>Jeremiah 34:21); the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land;…”

“It is usual with commentators to say that, the laws dealing with the emancipation of the Hebrew slaves, as also that of the land resting during the sabbatical year, were not observed. The narrative teaches us the exact contrary. The manumission of the slaves on the present occasion was the spontaneous act of Zedekiah and the people. They knew of the law, and acknowledged its obligation. The observance of it was, no doubt, lax: the majority let their own selfish interests prevail; but the minority made might give way to right, and Zedekiah supported their efforts though only in a weak way. Early in January, in the ninth year of Zedekiah, the Chaldaean army approached Jerusalem. The people…”

“princes: Jer 34:10; Eze 22:27-31; Dan 9:6, Dan 9:8, Dan 9:12; Mic 7:1-5; Zep 3:3, Zep 3:4 the eunuchs: Jer 29:2, Jer 38:7; Kg2 24:12, Kg2 24:15 \*marg. Jeremiah 34:20”