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Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^ain the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, ^bwhich was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet ^cwas shut up in ^dthe 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: ^eBehold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 ^fZedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans ^gbut 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 ^hhe shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. ⁱThough 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 ^j‘Buy my field that is at ^kAnathoth ^lfor the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ 8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in ^mthe court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at ⁿAnathoth 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 ^oAnathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and ^pweighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 ^qI signed the deed ^rsealed it, ^sgot witnesses, and ^tweighed 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 ^uBaruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of ^vthe witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in ^wthe court of the guard. 13 I charged ^xBaruch 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 ^yfields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to ^zBaruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord God! It is ^aayou who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by ^abyour outstretched arm! ^acNothing is too hard for you. 18 ^adYou show steadfast love to thousands ^aebut you repay the guilt of fathers ^afto their children after them, O great and ^agmighty God, whose name is the ^ah Lord of hosts, 19 ^aigreat in counsel and ^ajmighty in deed ^akwhose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man ^alrewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown ^amsigns and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind ^anand have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 ^aoYou brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and ^apoutstretched arm ^aqand with great terror. 22 And you gave them this land, ^arwhich you swore to their fathers to give them, ^asa land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. ^atBut 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 ^authe siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and ^avbecause of sword and famine and pestilence ^awthe 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, ^ax“Buy the field for money ^ayand get witnesses”—though ^azthe city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”

26 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the Lord ^bathe God of all flesh. ^bbIs anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: ^bcBehold, 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 ^bdshall come and set this city on fire and burn it, ^bewith the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal ^bfand drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, ^bgto provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight ^bhfrom their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but ^biprovoke me to anger ^bjby 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 ^bkso that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger— ^bltheir kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 ^bmThey have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them ^bnpersistently, they have not listened ^boto receive instruction. 34 They set up ^bptheir abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal ^bqin the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, ^brto offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, ^bsthough I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do ^btthis abomination, ^buto 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 ^bv‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: 37 ^bwBehold, I will gather them from all the countries ^bxto which I drove them in ^bymy anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place ^bzand I will make them dwell in safety. 38 ^caAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 ^cbI will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever ^ccfor their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 ^cdI will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. ^ceAnd I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 ^cfI will rejoice in doing them good ^cgand I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

42 “For thus says the Lord: ^chJust 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 ^ciFields shall be bought in this land ^cjof which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; ^ckit is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and ^cldeeds shall be signed and ^cmsealed and ^cnwitnessed ^coin the land of Benjamin ^cpin the places about Jerusalem ^cqand in the cities of Judah ^crin the cities of the hill country ^csin the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for ^ctI will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”