Jeremiah (to Zedekiah): ⁶ The message of the Eternal came to me through my cousin: ⁷ “Look! Hanamel (son of Shallum, your uncle), is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth; as my nearest relative, it is your right to buy it before I offer it to anyone else.^[a] It is also your duty to keep it in the family.’” ⁸ And just as He had predicted, my cousin Hanamel came to me while I was being held in the court of the guard. He said, “Jeremiah, buy my field in your hometown of Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin. It’s your right to buy and redeem it so that it stays in our family.” Then I realized this message was from the Eternal.

⁹ So I bought the field in Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin for seven ounces of silver. ¹⁰ I signed and sealed the deed in front of witnesses; after weighing out the silver on the scales, I paid Hanamel. ¹¹ Two copies of the deed were made. I took the sealed copy along with the terms and conditions of the purchase and the unsealed copy and ¹² handed them to my trusted friend and confidant, Baruch (son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah). I did all of this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all of the people of Judea who were there that day in the court of the guard.