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.’

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, ^(A)be strong in the Lord and in ^(B)the strength of his might. ^11 (C)Put on ^(D)the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against ^(E)the schemes of the devil. ¹² For ^(F)we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ^(G)the rulers, against the authorities, against ^(H)the cosmic powers over ^(I)this present darkness, against ^(J)the spiritual forces of evil ^(K)in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore ^(L)take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in ^(M)the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, ^(N)having fastened on the belt of truth, and ^(O)having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, ^(P)as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up ^(Q)the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all ^(R)the flaming darts of ^(S)the evil one; ¹⁷ and take ^(T)the helmet of salvation, and ^(U)the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying ^(V)at all times ^(W)in the Spirit, ^(X)with all prayer and supplication. To that end, ^(Y)keep alert with all perseverance, making ^(Z)supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and ^(AA)also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth ^(AB)boldly to proclaim ^(AC)the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I ^(AD)am an ambassador ^(AE)in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Final Greetings

^21 (AF)So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, ^(AG)Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. ²² I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may ^(AH)encourage your hearts.

^23 (AI)Peace be to the brothers,^[a] and ^(AJ)love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Grace be with all who ^(AK)love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

¹⁵ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and ^(A)fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

¹⁶ “After I had given the deed of purchase to ^(B)Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁷ ‘Ah, Lord God! It is ^(C)you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by ^(D)your outstretched arm! ^(E)Nothing is too hard for you. ^18 (F)You show steadfast love to thousands, ^(G)but you repay the guilt of fathers ^(H)to their children after them, O great and ^(I)mighty God, whose name is the ^(J)Lord of hosts, ^19 (K)great in counsel and ^(L)mighty in deed, ^(M)whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, ^(N)rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. ²⁰ You have shown ^(O)signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, ^(P)and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. ^21 (Q)You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and ^(R)outstretched arm, ^(S)and with great terror. ²² And you gave them this land, ^(T)which you swore to their fathers to give them, ^(U)a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³ And they entered and took possession of it. ^(V)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, ^(W)the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and ^(X)because of sword and famine and pestilence ^(Y)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, ^(Z)“Buy the field for money ^(AA)and get witnesses”—though ^(AB)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, ^(AC)the God of all flesh. ^(AD)Is anything too hard for me? ²⁸ Therefore, thus says the Lord: ^(AE)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 ^(AF)shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, ^(AG)with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal ^(AH)and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, ^(AI)to provoke me to anger. ³⁰ For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight ^(AJ)from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but ^(AK)provoke me to anger ^(AL)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, ^(AM)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—^(AN)their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ^33 (AO)They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them ^(AP)persistently, they have not listened ^(AQ)to receive instruction. ³⁴ They set up ^(AR)their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. ³⁵ They built the high places of Baal ^(AS)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, ^(AT)to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, ^(AU)though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do ^(AV)this abomination, ^(AW)to cause Judah to sin.

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² And his disciples asked him, ^(A)“Rabbi, ^(B)who sinned, ^(C)this man or ^(D)his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but ^(E)that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must ^(F)work the works of him who sent me ^(G)while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, ^(H)I am the light of the world.” ⁶ Having said these things, ^(I)he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. ^(J)Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in ^(K)the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and ^(L)came back seeing.

⁸ The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, ^(M)“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” ¹⁰ So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, ^(N)“The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ^14 (O)Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ^15 (P)So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not ^(Q)from God, ^(R)for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, ^(S)“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And ^(T)there was a division among them. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, ^(U)“He is a prophet.”

^18 (V)The Jews^[a] did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹ and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” ²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” ²² (His parents said these things ^(W)because they feared the Jews, for ^(X)the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should ^(Y)confess Jesus^[b] to be Christ, ^(Z)he was to be put out of the synagogue.) ²³ Therefore his parents said, ^(AA)“He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, ^(AB)“Give glory to God. We know that ^(AC)this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I ^(AD)was blind, now I see.” ²⁶ They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered them, ^(AE)“I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” ²⁸ And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but ^(AF)we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, ^(AG)we do not know where he comes from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “Why, this is ^(AH)an amazing thing! ^(AI)You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that ^(AJ)God does not listen to sinners, but ^(AK)if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. ³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. ^33 (AL)If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴ They answered him, ^(AM)“You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they ^(AN)cast him out.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in ^(AO)the Son of Man?”^{[c] 36} He answered, ^(AP)“And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and ^(AQ)it is he who is speaking to you.” ³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, ^(AR)“For judgment I came into this world, ^(AS)that those who do not see may see, and ^(AT)those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ^(AU)“Are we also blind?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, ^(AV)you would have no guilt;^[d] but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.