Jeremiah 34:10

The people of Jerusalem entered into a covenant to free their servants, and they at first followed through with their promise and liberated them. We do not know their precise motives. Perhaps the servants were needed to defend the city along with their masters, or they may have provided too many mouths for their masters to feed. Perhaps this represents repentance on the part of the masters who wanted to honor the Mosaic Covenant (cf. Exodus 21:2-6; Leviticus 25:10; Deuteronomy 15:12-18). If it was repentance, it was short-lived and shallow.