Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah.3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it;4 Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.5 And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed'?"

6 Jeremiah said, "The word of the Lord came to me:7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, 'Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.'8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, 'Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

9 "And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales.11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy.12 And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard.13 I charged Baruch in their presence, saying,14 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time.15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.'

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

16 "After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying:17 'Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.18 You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts,19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.20 You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day.21 You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror.22 And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.23 And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them.24 Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it.25 Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, "Buy the field for money and get witnesses"—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.'"

26 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:27 "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger.30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the Lord.31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.33 They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction.34 They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it.35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

36 "Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, 'It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence':37 Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety.38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

42 "For thus says the Lord: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.43 Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, 'It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.'44 Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord."

Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah Buys a Field

1 In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the Lord spoke to Jeremiah.ts That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2 Now at that time,s the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem.ss The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouset attached to the royal palace of Judah.3 For King Zedekiaht had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, “Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the Lord says, ‘I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it.t4 King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians.t He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face.t

5 Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him.ts I, the Lord, affirm it!t Even if yous continue to fight against the Babylonians,t you cannot win.’”
6 So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord told me,t7 ‘Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, “Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitledt as my closest relative to buy it.”’s8 Now it happened just as the Lord had said! My cousin Hanamelt came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, ‘Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.’ When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me.9 So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver and gave it to him to pay for it.ts10 I signed the deed of purchase,t sealed it, and had some men serve as witnesses to the purchase.t I weighed out the silver for him on a scale.11 There were two copies of the deed of purchase. One was sealed and contained the order of transfer and the conditions of purchase.t The other was left unsealed.12 I took both copies of the deed of purchaset and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presencets of my cousins Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse.13 In the presence of all these people I instructed Baruch,14 ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over allt says, “Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come.”’t

15 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over allt says, “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’s

Jeremiah’s Prayer of Praise and Bewilderment

16 “After I had given the copies of the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord,17 ‘Oh, Lord God,ts you did indeedt make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength.t Nothing is too hard for you!18 You show unfailing love to thousands.t But you also punish children for the sins of their parents.t You are the great and powerful God who is known as the Lord who rules over all.t19 You plan great things and you do mighty deeds.t You see everything people do.t You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do.t20 You did miracles and amazing deeds in the land of Egypt which have had lasting effect. By this means you gained both in Israel and among humankind a renown that lasts to this day.t21 You used your mighty power and your great strength to perform miracles and amazing deeds and to bring great terror on the Egyptians. By this means you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt.t22 You kept the promise that you swore on oath to their ancestors.t You gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.t23 But when they came in and took possession of it, they did not obey you or live as you had instructed them. They did not do anything that you commanded them to do.t So you brought all this disaster on them.24 Even now siege ramps have been built up around the cityt in order to capture it. War,t starvation, and disease are sure to make the city fall into the hands of the Babylonianst who are attacking it.tLord,t you threatened that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already taking place.t

25 The city is sure to fall into the hands of the Babylonians.t Yet, in spite of this,t you, Lord God,t have said to me, “Buy that field with silver and have the transaction legally witnessed.”’”t

The Lord Answers Jeremiah’s Prayer

26 The Lord answered Jeremiah.t27 “I am the Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me.ts28 Therefore I, the Lord, say:t ‘I will indeed handt this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonian army.t They will capture it.29 The Babylonian soldierst that are attacking this city will break into it and set it on fire. They will burn it down along with the houses where people have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods on their rooftops.s30 This will happen because the people of Israel and Judah have repeatedly done what displeases met from their earliest history until nowts and because theyt have repeatedly made me angry by the things they have done.t I, the Lord, affirm it!t31 This will happen becauset the people of this city have aroused my anger and my wrath since the time they built it until now.ts They have made me so angry that I am determined to removet it from my sight.32 I am determined to do so because the people of Israel and Judah have made me angry with all their wickedness – they, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, and especially the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalems have done this wickedness.ts33 They have turned away from me instead of turning to me.t I tried over and over againts to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction.t34 They set up their disgusting idols in the temple which I have claimed for my ownt and defiled it.

35 They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech.s Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.’t
36 “You and your peoplet are right in saying, ‘War,t starvation, and disease are sure to make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylon.’s But now I, the Lord God of Israel, have something further to say about this city:t37 ‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiledt them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety.38 They will be my people, and I will be their God.s39 I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that forts their own good and the good of the children who descend from them.40 I will make a lasting covenantts with them that I will never stop doing good to them.t I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so thatt they will never again turnt away from me.

41 I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant themt firmly in the land.’
42 “For I, the Lord, say:t ‘I will surely bring on these people all the good fortune that I am hereby promising them. I will be just as sure to do that as I have been in bringing all this great disaster on them.ts43 You and your peoplet are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians.t But fieldst will again be bought in this land.t

44 Fields will again be bought with silver, and deeds of purchase signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will happen in the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, the towns in Judah, the southern hill country, the western foothills, and southern Judah.ts For I will restore them to their land.t I, the Lord, affirm it!’”t