¹⁶ “I gave the record of ownership to Baruch son of Neriah. Then I prayed to the Lord. I said: ¹⁷ Oh, Lord God, you made the skies and the earth. You made them with your very great power. There is nothing too wonderful for you to do. ¹⁸ Lord, you show love and kindness to thousands of people. But you also bring punishment to children for their fathers’ sins. Great and powerful God, your name is the Lord of heaven’s armies. ¹⁹ You plan and do great things, Lord. You see everything that people do. You reward people for the way they live and for what they do. ²⁰ Lord, you did miracles and wonderful things in the land of Egypt. You have kept on doing them even until today. You did miracles in Israel and among the other nations. You have become well known. ²¹ Lord, you used signs and miracles and brought your people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. You used your great power and strength to do those things. You brought great terror on everyone. ²² Lord, you gave this land to the people of Israel. This is the land you promised to their ancestors long ago. It’s a land where much food grows. ²³ The people of Israel came into this land and took it for their own. But those people did not obey you. They did not follow your teachings. They did not do the things you commanded. So you made all these terrible things happen to them.

²⁴ “And now, the enemy has surrounded the city. They are building roads to the top of the walls. There will be war, hunger and terrible diseases. These will cause the city to be handed over to the Babylonians. They are attacking the city now. Lord, you said this would happen. And now you see it is happening. ²⁵ But now, Lord God, you are telling me, ‘Buy the field with silver. Choose some men to watch while I purchase it.’ You are telling me this while the Babylonian army is ready to capture the city.”