Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bond-men, saying,

Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I, I made a covenant with your fathers in the day of My bringing them forth from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants, saying,

Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves, saying,

The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, I made an agreement with your fathers on the day when I took them out of Egypt, out of the prison-house, saying,

"Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I struck a pact with your fathers in the day when I led them away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude, saying:

Sic dicit Jehova, Deus Israel, Ego percussi foedus cum pattibus vestris die quo eduxi ipsos e terra Egypti, e domo servorum, dicendo,

The house of bondmen - The miserable prison in which, after being worked in the fields all day in gangs, the slaves were shut up at night.

Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel,.... The covenant God of Israel, their Creator, Redeemer, and Benefactor:
I made a covenant with your fathers; gave them a system of laws, among which was that of release of servants:
in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt; that is, at that time, quickly after, when they were come to Mount Sinai; this shows what fathers are meant, the Jewish ancestors that came out of Egypt, brought from thence by the mighty hand of God, and indulged with many favours by him, both in the wilderness, and in the land of Canaan, where he brought and settled them:
out of the house of bondmen; where they were bondmen, servants, and slaves: this is mentioned, to put them in mind of their former state and condition; to observe unto them the foundation and ground of the law concerning servants, how equitable and merciful it was, and to aggravate their sin; who though their fathers had been bondmen, and they must have been so too, had they not been released, yet acted such a cruel part to their servants, who were their brethren, in not discharging them in due time:
saying; giving out the following law, as a part of the covenant made with their fathers.

The last year of Zedekiah was the sabbatical year. How just the retribution, that they who, against God's law and their own covenant, enslaved their brethren, should be doomed to bondage themselves: and that the bond-servants should enjoy the sabbatical freedom at the hands of the foe (Jeremiah 52:16) which their own countrymen denied them!