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Jeremiah 32-36
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!”

Promises of Peace and Prosperity

33 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the Lord gave him this second message: 2 “This is what the Lord says—the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord: 3 Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come. 4 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: You have torn down the houses of this city and even the king’s palace to get materials to strengthen the walls against the siege ramps and swords of the enemy. 5 You expect to fight the Babylonians,[f] but the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have determined to destroy them in my terrible anger. I have abandoned them because of all their wickedness.

6 “Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace. 7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns. 8 I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion. 9 Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.

10 “This is what the Lord says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more 11 the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing,

‘Give thanks to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    for the Lord is good.
    His faithful love endures forever!’

For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the Lord.

12 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: This land—though it is now desolate and has no people and animals—will once more have pastures where shepherds can lead their flocks. 13 Once again shepherds will count their flocks in the towns of the hill country, the foothills of Judah,[g] the Negev, the land of Benjamin, the vicinity of Jerusalem, and all the towns of Judah. I, the Lord, have spoken!

14 “The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them.

15 “In those days and at that time
    I will raise up a righteous descendant[h] from King David’s line.
    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
16 In that day Judah will be saved,
    and Jerusalem will live in safety.
And this will be its name:
    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’[i]

17 For this is what the Lord says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever. 18 And there will always be Levitical priests to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings and sacrifices to me.”

19 Then this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 20 “This is what the Lord says: If you can break my covenant with the day and the night so that one does not follow the other, 21 only then will my covenant with my servant David be broken. Only then will he no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. The same is true for my covenant with the Levitical priests who minister before me. 22 And as the stars of the sky cannot be counted and the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of my servant David and the Levites who minister before me.”

23 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 24 “Have you noticed what people are saying?—‘The Lord chose Judah and Israel and then abandoned them!’ They are sneering and saying that Israel is not worthy to be counted as a nation. 25 But this is what the Lord says: I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky. 26 I will never abandon the descendants of Jacob or David, my servant, or change the plan that David’s descendants will rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore them to their land and have mercy on them.”

A Warning for Zedekiah

34 King Nebuchadnezzar[j] of Babylon came with all the armies from the kingdoms he ruled, and he fought against Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. At that time this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. 3 You will not escape his grasp but will be captured and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. Then you will be exiled to Babylon.

4 “‘But listen to this promise from the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says: You will not be killed in war 5 but will die peacefully. People will burn incense in your memory, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who preceded you. They will mourn for you, crying, “Alas, our master is dead!” This I have decreed, says the Lord.’”

6 So Jeremiah the prophet delivered the message to King Zedekiah of Judah. 7 At this time the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah—the only fortified cities of Judah not yet captured.

Freedom for Hebrew Slaves

8 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people, proclaiming freedom for the slaves. 9 He had ordered all the people to free their Hebrew slaves—both men and women. No one was to keep a fellow Judean in bondage. 10 The officials and all the people had obeyed the king’s command, 11 but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again.

12 So the Lord gave them this message through Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors long ago when I rescued them from their slavery in Egypt. 14 I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me. 15 Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name. 16 But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.

17 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth. 18 Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows. 19 Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath. 20 I will give you to your enemies, and they will kill you. Your bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.

21 “I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to the army of the king of Babylon. And although they have left Jerusalem for a while, 22 I will call the Babylonian armies back again. They will fight against this city and will capture it and burn it down. I will see to it that all the towns of Judah are destroyed, with no one living there.”

The Faithful Recabites

35 This is the message the Lord gave Jeremiah when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah: 2 “Go to the settlement where the families of the Recabites live, and invite them to the Lord’s Temple. Take them into one of the inner rooms, and offer them some wine.”

3 So I went to see Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah and all his brothers and sons—representing all the Recabite families. 4 I took them to the Temple, and we went into the room assigned to the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This room was located next to the one used by the Temple officials, directly above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the Temple gatekeeper.

5 I set cups and jugs of wine before them and invited them to have a drink, 6 but they refused. “No,” they said, “we don’t drink wine, because our ancestor Jehonadab[k] son of Recab gave us this command: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. 7 And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.’ 8 So we have obeyed him in all these things. We have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters. 9 We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor. 11 But when King Nebuchadnezzar[l] of Babylon attacked this country, we were afraid of the Babylonian and Syrian[m] armies. So we decided to move to Jerusalem. That is why we are here.”

12 Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to the people in Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Come and learn a lesson about how to obey me. 14 The Recabites do not drink wine to this day because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to obey me. 15 Time after time I sent you prophets, who told you, “Turn from your wicked ways, and start doing things right. Stop worshiping other gods so that you might live in peace here in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you would not listen to me or obey me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Recab have obeyed their ancestor completely, but you have refused to listen to me.’

17 “Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you refuse to listen or answer when I call, I will send upon Judah and Jerusalem all the disasters I have threatened.’”

18 Then Jeremiah turned to the Recabites and said, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed your ancestor Jehonadab in every respect, following all his instructions.’ 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me.’”

Baruch Reads the Lord’s Messages

36 During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah,[n] the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 2 “Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. 3 Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”

4 So Jeremiah sent for Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated all the prophecies that the Lord had given him, Baruch wrote them on a scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, “I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple. 6 So you go to the Temple on the next day of fasting, and read the messages from the Lord that I have had you write on this scroll. Read them so the people who are there from all over Judah will hear them. 7 Perhaps even yet they will turn from their evil ways and ask the Lord’s forgiveness before it is too late. For the Lord has threatened them with his terrible anger.”

8 Baruch did as Jeremiah told him and read these messages from the Lord to the people at the Temple. 9 He did this on a day of sacred fasting held in late autumn,[o] during the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah. People from all over Judah had come to Jerusalem to attend the services at the Temple on that day. 10 Baruch read Jeremiah’s words on the scroll to all the people. He stood in front of the Temple room of Gemariah, son of Shaphan the secretary. This room was just off the upper courtyard of the Temple, near the New Gate entrance.

11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan heard the messages from the Lord, 12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the palace where the administrative officials were meeting. Elishama the secretary was there, along with Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 When Micaiah told them about the messages Baruch was reading to the people, 14 the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to ask Baruch to come and read the messages to them, too. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them. 15 “Sit down and read the scroll to us,” the officials said, and Baruch did as they requested.

16 When they heard all the messages, they looked at one another in alarm. “We must tell the king what we have heard,” they said to Baruch. 17 “But first, tell us how you got these messages. Did they come directly from Jeremiah?”

18 So Baruch explained, “Jeremiah dictated them, and I wrote them down in ink, word for word, on this scroll.”

19 “You and Jeremiah should both hide,” the officials told Baruch. “Don’t tell anyone where you are!” 20 Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room of Elishama the secretary and went to tell the king what had happened.

King Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama’s room and read it to the king as all his officials stood by. 22 It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. 23 Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. 24 Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. 25 Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn’t listen.

26 Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord had hidden them.

Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll

27 After the king had burned the scroll on which Baruch had written Jeremiah’s words, the Lord gave Jeremiah another message. He said, 28 “Get another scroll, and write everything again just as you did on the scroll King Jehoiakim burned. 29 Then say to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned the scroll because it said the king of Babylon would destroy this land and empty it of people and animals. 30 Now this is what the Lord says about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no heirs to sit on the throne of David. His dead body will be thrown out to lie unburied—exposed to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will punish him and his family and his attendants for their sins. I will pour out on them and on all the people of Jerusalem and Judah all the disasters I promised, for they would not listen to my warnings.’”

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary, Baruch. He wrote everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time he added much more!

Footnotes

  1. 32:1a The tenth year of Zedekiah’s reign and the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was 587 B.c.
  2. 32:1b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 32:28.
  3. 32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in 32:5, 24, 25, 28, 29, 43.
  4. 32:9 Hebrew 17 shekels, about 7 ounces or 194 grams in weight.
  5. 32:44 Hebrew the Shephelah.
  6. 33:5 Or Chaldeans.
  7. 33:13 Hebrew the Shephelah.
  8. 33:15 Hebrew a righteous branch.
  9. 33:16 Hebrew Yahweh Tsidqenu.
  10. 34:1 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar.
  11. 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant spelling of Jehonadab; also in 35:10, 19. See 2 Kgs 10:15.
  12. 35:11a Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar.
  13. 35:11b Or Chaldean and Aramean.
  14. 36:1 The fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign was 605 B.c.
  15. 36:9 Hebrew in the ninth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar (also in 36:22). The ninth month in the fifth year of Jehoiakim’s reign occurred within the months of November and December 604 B.c. Also see note on 1:3.
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Jeremiah 32-36
New International Version

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth(A) year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth(B) year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging(C) Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined(D) in the courtyard of the guard(E) in the royal palace of Judah.

3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy(F) as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture(G) it. 4 Zedekiah(H) king of Judah will not escape(I) the Babylonians[a](J) but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5 He will take(K) Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him,(L) declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”(M)

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth,(N) because as nearest relative it is your right and duty(O) to buy it.’

8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field(P) at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9 so I bought the field(Q) at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels[b] of silver.(R) 10 I signed and sealed the deed,(S) had it witnessed,(T) and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch(U) son of Neriah,(V) the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed(W) and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’(X)

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch(Y) son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord,(Z) you have made the heavens and the earth(AA) by your great power and outstretched arm.(AB) Nothing is too hard(AC) for you. 18 You show love(AD) to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps(AE) of their children(AF) after them. Great and mighty God,(AG) whose name is the Lord Almighty,(AH) 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.(AI) Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind;(AJ) you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.(AK) 20 You performed signs and wonders(AL) in Egypt(AM) and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown(AN) that is still yours. 21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand(AO) and an outstretched arm(AP) and with great terror.(AQ) 22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.(AR) 23 They came in and took possession(AS) of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law;(AT) they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster(AU) on them.

24 “See how the siege ramps(AV) are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague,(AW) the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said(AX) has happened,(AY) as you now see. 25 And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field(AZ) with silver and have the transaction witnessed.(BA)’”

26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.(BB) Is anything too hard for me?(BC) 28 Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar(BD) king of Babylon, who will capture it.(BE) 29 The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down,(BF) along with the houses(BG) where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings(BH) to other gods.(BI)

30 “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth;(BJ) indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger(BK) with what their hands have made,(BL) declares the Lord. 31 From the day it was built until now, this city(BM) has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove(BN) it from my sight. 32 The people of Israel and Judah have provoked(BO) me by all the evil(BP) they have done—they, their kings and officials,(BQ) their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 33 They turned their backs(BR) to me and not their faces; though I taught(BS) them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.(BT) 34 They set up their vile images(BU) in the house that bears my Name(BV) and defiled(BW) it. 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom(BX) to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek,(BY) though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind(BZ)—that they should do such a detestable(CA) thing and so make Judah sin.(CB)

36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague(CC) it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gather(CD) them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger(CE) and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.(CF) 38 They will be my people,(CG) and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness(CH) of heart and action, so that they will always fear(CI) me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant(CJ) with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire(CK) them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.(CL) 41 I will rejoice(CM) in doing them good(CN) and will assuredly plant(CO) them in this land with all my heart and soul.(CP)

42 “This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity(CQ) on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised(CR) them. 43 Once more fields will be bought(CS) in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate(CT) waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ 44 Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds(CU) will be signed, sealed and witnessed(CV) in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev,(CW) because I will restore(CX) their fortunes,[c] declares the Lord.”

Promise of Restoration

33 While Jeremiah was still confined(CY) in the courtyard(CZ) of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time:(DA) 2 “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth,(DB) the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name:(DC) 3 ‘Call(DD) to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable(DE) things you do not know.’ 4 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege(DF) ramps(DG) and the sword 5 in the fight with the Babylonians[d]: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath.(DH) I will hide my face(DI) from this city because of all its wickedness.

6 “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal(DJ) my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace(DK) and security. 7 I will bring Judah(DL) and Israel back from captivity[e](DM) and will rebuild(DN) them as they were before.(DO) 8 I will cleanse(DP) them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive(DQ) all their sins of rebellion against me. 9 Then this city will bring me renown,(DR) joy, praise(DS) and honor(DT) before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble(DU) at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’

10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.”(DV) Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted,(DW) inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more 11 the sounds of joy and gladness,(DX) the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings(DY) to the house of the Lord, saying,

“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
    for the Lord is good;(DZ)
    his love endures forever.”(EA)

For I will restore the fortunes(EB) of the land as they were before,(EC)’ says the Lord.

12 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate(ED) and without people or animals(EE)—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.(EF) 13 In the towns of the hill(EG) country, of the western foothills and of the Negev,(EH) in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand(EI) of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.

14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise(EJ) I made to the people of Israel and Judah.

15 “‘In those days and at that time
    I will make a righteous(EK) Branch(EL) sprout from David’s line;(EM)
    he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved(EN)
    and Jerusalem will live in safety.(EO)
This is the name by which it[f] will be called:(EP)
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’(EQ)

17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail(ER) to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical(ES) priests(ET) ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.(EU)’”

19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day(EV) and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,(EW) 21 then my covenant(EX) with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites(EY) who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.(EZ) 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless(FA) as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”

23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms[g](FB) he chose’? So they despise(FC) my people and no longer regard them as a nation.(FD) 25 This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night(FE) and established the laws(FF) of heaven and earth,(FG) 26 then I will reject(FH) the descendants of Jacob(FI) and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes[h](FJ) and have compassion(FK) on them.’”

Warning to Zedekiah

34 While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples(FL) in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem(FM) and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah(FN) king of Judah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.(FO) 3 You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and given into his hands.(FP) You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

4 “‘Yet hear the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;(FQ) 5 you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire(FR) in honor of your predecessors, the kings who ruled before you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas,(FS) master!” I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.’”

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out—Lachish(FT) and Azekah.(FU) These were the only fortified cities left in Judah.

Freedom for Slaves

8 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people(FV) in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom(FW) for the slaves. 9 Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.(FX) 10 So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they changed their minds(FY) and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors(FZ) when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.(GA) I said, 14 ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’[i](GB) Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention(GC) to me. 15 Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people.(GD) You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.(GE) 16 But now you have turned around(GF) and profaned(GG) my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you,(GH) declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague(GI) and famine.(GJ) I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.(GK) 18 Those who have violated my covenant(GL) and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.(GM) 19 The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials,(GN) the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, 20 I will deliver(GO) into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them.(GP) Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.(GQ)

21 “I will deliver Zedekiah(GR) king of Judah and his officials(GS) into the hands of their enemies(GT) who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon,(GU) which has withdrawn(GV) from you. 22 I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take(GW) it and burn(GX) it down. And I will lay waste(GY) the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”

The Rekabites

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim(GZ) son of Josiah king of Judah: 2 “Go to the Rekabite(HA) family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms(HB) of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. 4 I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.(HC) It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum(HD) the doorkeeper.(HE) 5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab[j](HF) son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.(HG) 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents.(HH) Then you will live a long time in the land(HI) where you are nomads.’ 8 We have obeyed everything our forefather(HJ) Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.(HK) 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded(HL) this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem(HM) to escape the Babylonian[k] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell(HN) the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson(HO) and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.(HP) But I have spoken to you again and again,(HQ) yet you have not obeyed(HR) me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets(HS) to you. They said, “Each of you must turn(HT) from your wicked ways and reform(HU) your actions; do not follow other gods(HV) to serve them. Then you will live in the land(HW) I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened(HX) to me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather(HY) gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster(HZ) I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen;(IA) I called to them, but they did not answer.’”(IB)

18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather(IC) Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail(ID) to have a descendant to serve(IE) me.’”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim(IF) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll(IG) and write on it all the words(IH) I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah(II) till now. 3 Perhaps(IJ) when the people of Judah hear(IK) about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn(IL) from their wicked ways; then I will forgive(IM) their wickedness and their sin.”

4 So Jeremiah called Baruch(IN) son of Neriah,(IO) and while Jeremiah dictated(IP) all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.(IQ) 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting(IR) and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated.(IS) Read them to all the people of Judah(IT) who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition(IU) before the Lord and will each turn(IV) from their wicked ways, for the anger(IW) and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”

8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. 9 In the ninth month(IX) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting(IY) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah(IZ) son of Shaphan(JA) the secretary,(JB) which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate(JC) of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.

11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s(JD) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan(JE) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.(JF) 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi(JG) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll(JH) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear(JI) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write(JJ) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated(JK) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

19 Then the officials(JL) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.(JM) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi(JN) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king(JO) and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,(JP) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,(JQ) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.(JR) 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,(JS) nor did they tear their clothes.(JT) 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah(JU) and Gemariah(JV) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest(JW) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden(JX) them.

27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,(JY) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll(JZ) and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it(KA) both man and beast?”(KB) 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim(KC) king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out(KD) and exposed(KE) to the heat by day and the frost by night.(KF) 31 I will punish him and his children(KG) and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster(KH) I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.(KI)’”

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,(KJ) Baruch wrote(KK) on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned(KL) in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 5, 24, 25, 28, 29 and 43
  2. Jeremiah 32:9 That is, about 7 ounces or about 200 grams
  3. Jeremiah 32:44 Or will bring them back from captivity
  4. Jeremiah 33:5 Or Chaldeans
  5. Jeremiah 33:7 Or will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel
  6. Jeremiah 33:16 Or he
  7. Jeremiah 33:24 Or families
  8. Jeremiah 33:26 Or will bring them back from captivity
  9. Jeremiah 34:14 Deut. 15:12
  10. Jeremiah 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter
  11. Jeremiah 35:11 Or Chaldean
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Jeremiah 31
Jeremiah 37
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