Jeremiah 32

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. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard at the house of the king of Judah. Zedekiah king of Judah had confined him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will speak with him face to face, and his eyes will see his eyes. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he will remain until I attend to him, declares the LORD. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed’?” Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Look, Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you to say: Buy my field in Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.’ Then Hanamel, my uncle’s son, came to me in the courtyard of the guard according to the word of the LORD. He said, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you have the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. So I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel, my uncle’s son, and weighed out for him about seven ounces of silver. I wrote the deed and sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed the silver on the scales. I took the deed of purchase, the sealed one with its terms and conditions, and the open one, and gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle, the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. I charged Baruch in their presence: ‘This is what the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, so that they may last many days. For this is what the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’ After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: ‘Ah, Lord GOD! Look, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you. You show steadfast love to thousands and repay the iniquity of fathers into the laps of their children after them—the great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts. You are great in counsel and mighty in deeds; your eyes are open to all the ways of mankind, to give each man according to his ways and the fruit of his deeds. You have performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt to this day, in Israel and among mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as it is today. You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and great terror. You gave them this land, which you swore to their ancestors to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. They entered and possessed it, but did not obey your voice or walk in your laws. They did none of all you commanded them to do, so you brought all this disaster upon them. Look, the siege ramps have reached the city to capture it, and the city is being given into the hand of the Chaldeans fighting against it, because of sword, famine, and plague. What you spoke has happened, and you yourself see it. Yet you have said to me, Lord GOD: Buy the field with silver and call witnesses—though the city is being given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’” The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Look, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for me? Therefore this is what the LORD says: Look, I am giving this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will capture it. The Chaldeans fighting against this city will come, set fire to it, and burn it, along with the houses on whose roofs they burned incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger. For the people of Israel and the people of Judah have done only evil in my sight from their youth; the people of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, declares the LORD. This city has provoked my anger and my wrath from the day they built it to this day, so I will remove it from my presence, because of all the evil the people of Israel and Judah have done to provoke me to anger—they, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They turned their backs to me and not their faces. Though I taught them, rising early and teaching them, they did not listen or accept discipline. They set their abominations in the house that bears my name, defiling it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to hand their sons and daughters over to Molech—something I did not command them, nor did it enter my mind that they should do this abomination, causing Judah to sin. Now therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and plague’: Look, I am gathering them from all the lands where I drove them in my anger, my fury, and my great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell securely. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, so that they fear me always, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will not turn away from doing them good. I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they do not turn away from me. I will rejoice over them in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all my heart and all my soul. For this is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good I am promising them. Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolation, without people or animals, given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ They will buy fields with silver, write and seal deeds, and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin, around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowlands, and in the cities of the Negev, for I will restore their fortunes,” declares the LORD.

Rights and attribution