Jeremiah 32
New Living Translation
Jeremiah’s Land Purchase
32 The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah,[a] king of Judah. This was also the eighteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.[b] 2 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 Babylonians[c] 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 pieces[d] 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 Judah[e] and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Footnotes
- 32:1a The tenth year of Zedekiah’s reign and the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was 587 B.c.
- 32:1b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 32:28.
- 32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in 32:5, 24, 25, 28, 29, 43.
- 32:9 Hebrew 17 shekels, about 7 ounces or 194 grams in weight.
- 32:44 Hebrew the Shephelah.
Jeremiah 32
English Standard Version
Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege
32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (A)in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, (B)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 (C)was shut up in (D)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: (E)Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 (F)Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, (G)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 (H)he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. (I)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, (J)‘Buy my field that is at (K)Anathoth, (L)for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ 8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in (M)the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at (N)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 (O)Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and (P)weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 (Q)I signed the deed, (R)sealed it, (S)got witnesses, and (T)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 (U)Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of (V)the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in (W)the court of the guard. 13 I charged (X)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 (Y)fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’
Jeremiah Prays for Understanding
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to (Z)Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord God! It is (AA)you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by (AB)your outstretched arm! (AC)Nothing is too hard for you. 18 (AD)You show steadfast love to thousands, (AE)but you repay the guilt of fathers (AF)to their children after them, O great and (AG)mighty God, whose name is the (AH)Lord of hosts, 19 (AI)great in counsel and (AJ)mighty in deed, (AK)whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, (AL)rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown (AM)signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, (AN)and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 (AO)You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and (AP)outstretched arm, (AQ)and with great terror. 22 And you gave them this land, (AR)which you swore to their fathers to give them, (AS)a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. (AT)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, (AU)the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and (AV)because of sword and famine and pestilence (AW)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, (AX)“Buy the field for money (AY)and get witnesses”—though (AZ)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, (BA)the God of all flesh. (BB)Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: (BC)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 (BD)shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, (BE)with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal (BF)and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, (BG)to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight (BH)from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but (BI)provoke me to anger (BJ)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, (BK)so 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—(BL)their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 (BM)They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them (BN)persistently, they have not listened (BO)to receive instruction. 34 They set up (BP)their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal (BQ)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, (BR)to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, (BS)though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do (BT)this abomination, (BU)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, (BV)‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: 37 (BW)Behold, I will gather them from all the countries (BX)to which I drove them in (BY)my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, (BZ)and I will make them dwell in safety. 38 (CA)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 (CB)I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, (CC)for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 (CD)I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. (CE)And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 (CF)I will rejoice in doing them good, (CG)and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
42 “For thus says the Lord: (CH)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 (CI)Fields shall be bought in this land (CJ)of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; (CK)it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and (CL)deeds shall be signed and (CM)sealed and (CN)witnessed, (CO)in the land of Benjamin, (CP)in the places about Jerusalem, (CQ)and in the cities of Judah, (CR)in the cities of the hill country, (CS)in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for (CT)I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
