Jeremiah 32

Chapter 32

Jeremiah’s Land Purchase

1 The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah,t king of Judah. This was also the eighteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.t2 Jerusalem was then under siege from the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace.3 King Zedekiah had put him there, asking why he kept giving this prophecy: “This is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it.4 King Zedekiah will be captured by the Babylonianst and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face.

5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and I will deal with him there,’ says the LORD. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed.’”
6 At that time the LORD sent me a message. He said,

7 “Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’”

8 Then, just as the LORD had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the LORD.
9 So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen piecest of silver for it.10 I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him.11 Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase,

12 and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the courtyard of the guardhouse.
13 Then I said to Baruch as they all listened,14 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.’

15 For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”

Jeremiah’s Prayer

16 Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the LORD:
17 “O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!18 You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.19 You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve.20 You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt—things still remembered to this day! And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous to this day.21 “You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror.22 You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before—a land flowing with milk and honey.23 Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them.24 “See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said.25 And yet, O Sovereign LORD, you have told me to buy the field—paying good money for it before these witnesses—even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians.”

A Prediction of Jerusalem’s Fall

26 Then this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:27 “I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?28 Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it.29 The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods.30 Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the LORD.

31 “From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.
32 “The sins of Israel and Judah—the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets—have stirred up my anger.33 My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey.34 They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it.

35 They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!

A Promise of Restoration

36 “Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:37 I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety.38 They will be my people, and I will be their God.39 And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.

41 I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.
42 “This is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them.43 Fields will again be bought and sold in this land about which you now say, ‘It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’

44 Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold—deeds signed and sealed and witnessed—in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judaht and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

JEREMIAH 32

Jeremiah Buys a Field

1  t The [Lord] spoke to me in the tenth year that Zedekiaht was king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year that Nebuchadnezzart was king of Babylonia. 2 At that time, the Babylonian army had surrounded Jerusalem, and I was in the prison at the courtyard of the palace guards.

3 Zedekiah had ordered me to be held there because I told everyone that the [Lord] had said:
I am the [Lord], and I am about to let the king of Babylonia conquer Jerusalem. 4 King Zedekiah will be captured and taken to King Nebuchadnezzar, who will speak with him face to face.

5 Then Zedekiah will be led away to Babylonia, where he will stay until I am finished with him. So, if you people of Judah fight against the Babylonians, you will lose. I, the [Lord], have spoken.

6 Later, when I was in prison, the [Lord] said:

7 Jeremiah, your cousin Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will visit you. He must sell his field near the town of Anathoth, and because you are his nearest relative, you have the right and the responsibility to buy it and keep it in the family.t

8 Hanamel came, just as the [Lord] had promised. And he said, “Please buy my field near Anathoth in the territory of the Benjamin tribe. You have the right to buy it, and if you do, it will stay in our family.”
The [Lord] had told me to buy it 9 from Hanamel, and so I did. The price was 17 pieces of silver, and I weighed out the full amount on a scale. 10-11 I had two copies of the bill of sale written out: an official copy containing the details of our agreement and another copy, without the details. Some witnesses and I signed the official copy, which was folded and tied, before being sealed shut with hot wax.t Then I gave Hanamel the silver.

12 And while he, the witnesses, and all the other Jews sitting in the courtyard were still watching, I gave both copies to Baruch son of Neriah.t

13-14 I told Baruch that the [Lord] had said:
Take both copies of this bill of sale, one sealed shut and the other open, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time.

15 I am the [Lord] All-Powerful, the God of Israel, and I promise you that people will once again buy and sell houses, farms, and vineyards in this country.

Jeremiah Questions the [Lord]

16 Then I prayed:
17 [Lord] God, you stretched out your mighty arm and made the sky and the earth. You can do anything. 18 You show kindness for a thousand generations, t but you also punish people for the sins of their parents. You are the [Lord] All-Powerful.

19 With great wisdom you make plans, and with your great power you do all the mighty things you planned. Nothing we do is hidden from your eyes, and you reward or punish us as we deserve.
20 You are famous because you worked miracles in Egypt, and you are still working them in Israel and in the rest of the world as well. 21 You terrified the Egyptians with your miracles, and you reached out your mighty arm and rescued your people Israel from Egypt.

22 Then you gave Israel this land rich with milk and honey, just as you had promised our ancestors.
23 But when our ancestors took over the land, they did not obey you. And now you have punished Israel with disaster.

24 Jerusalem is under attack, and we suffer from hunger and disease. The Babylonians have already built dirt ramps up to the walls of our city, and you can see that Jerusalem will be captured just as you said.

25 So why did you tell me to get some witnesses and buy a field with my silver, when Jerusalem is about to be captured by the Babylonians?

The [Lord] Explains //about the Field

26 The [Lord] explained:

27 Jeremiah, I am the [Lord] God. I rule the world, and I can do anything!
28  t It is true that I am going to let King Nebuchadnezzart of Babylonia capture Jerusalem.

29 The Babylonian army is already attacking, and they will capture the city and set it on fire. The people of Jerusalem have made me angry by going up to the flat roofs of their houses and burning incense to Baal and offering wine sacrifices to other gods. Now these houses will be burned to the ground!

30-33 The kings and the officials, the priests and the prophets, and everyone else in Israel and Judah have turned from me and made me angry by worshiping idols. Again and again I have tried to teach my people to obey me, but they refuse to be corrected.
I am going to get rid of Jerusalem, because its people have done nothing but evil. 34 t They have set up repulsive idols in my temple, and now it isn't a fit place to worship me.

35 t And they led Judah into sin by building places to worship Baal in Hinnom Valley, where they also sacrificed their sons and daughters to the god Molech. I have never even imagined they would commit such disgusting sins.

36 Jeremiah, what you said is true. The people of Jerusalem are suffering from hunger and disease, and so the king of Babylonia will be able to capture Jerusalem.
37 I am angry with the people of Jerusalem, and I will scatter them in foreign countries. But someday I will bring them back here and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39-41 I will make their thoughts and desires pure. Then they will realize that, for their own good and the good of their children, they must worship only me. They will even be afraid to turn away from me. I will make an agreement with them that will never end, and I won't ever stop doing good things for them. With all my heart I promise that they will be planted in this land once again.

42 Even though I have brought disaster on the people, I will someday do all these good things for them.
43 Jeremiah, when you bought the field, you showed that fields will someday be bought and sold again. You say that this land has been conquered by the Babylonians and has become a desert, emptied of people and animals. 44 But someday, people will again spend their silver to buy fields everywhere—in the territory of Benjamin, the region around Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and in the hill country, the foothills to the west, and the Southern Desert. Buyers and sellers and witnesses will sign and seal the bills of sale for the fields. It will happen, because I will give this land back to my people. I, the [Lord], have spoken.