Add parallel Print Page Options

32 The word that was made of the Lord to Jeremy (The word of the Lord that was made to Jeremiah), in the tenth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah; that is the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

Then the host of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem; and Jeremy, the prophet, was closed in the porch of the prison (and the prophet Jeremiah was enclosed in the courtyard of the prison), that was in the house of the king of Judah.

For why Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had (en)closed him, and said, Why prophesiest thou, saying, The Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall give this city in[to] the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

and Zedekiah, king of Judah, shall not escape from the hand of Chaldees, but he shall be betaken into the hand of the king of Babylon (shall not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon); and his mouth shall speak with the mouth of him, and his eyes shall see the eyes of him;

and he shall lead Zedekiah into Babylon, and he shall be there, till I visit him, saith the Lord; forsooth if ye fight against [the] Chaldees, ye shall have nothing in prosperity? (and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and he shall be there, until I visit him/until I deal with him, saith the Lord; and even if ye fight against the Chaldeans, ye shall not succeed.)

And Jeremy said, (Because) The word of the Lord was made to me, and said,

Lo! Hanameel, the son of Shallum, the son of thy father’s brother, shall come to thee, and say, Buy thou to thee my field, which is in Anathoth; for it befalleth to thee by nigh kindred, that thou buy it. (Lo! Hanameel, the son of Shallum, the son of thy uncle, shall come to thee, and say, Buy thou for thyself my field, which is in Anathoth; for it befalleth to thee by the right of next of kin, that thou may buy it.)

And Hanameel, the son of my father’s brother, came to me, by the word of the Lord, to the porch of the prison, and said to me, Wield thou my field, which is in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin; for why the heritage befalleth to thee, and thou art the next of blood, that thou wield it. Forsooth I understood, that it was the word of the Lord. (And Hanameel, the son of my uncle, indeed did come to me, after the word of the Lord, to the courtyard of the prison, and said to me, Buy thou my field, which is in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin; for the inheritance befalleth to thee, and thou art the next of blood, or the next of kin, and so thou may buy it. And so I understood, that it was the word of the Lord.)

And I bought the field, which is in Anathoth, of Hanameel, the son of my father’s brother (And so I bought the field, which is in Anathoth, from Hanameel, the son of my uncle). And I paid to him silver, seven staters, and ten pieces of silver;

10 and I wrote (it up) in a book, and I sealed (it), and I gave (it to) witnesses. And I weighed silver in a balance; (and I signed, and sealed, the deed of purchase, and I had it witnessed, and copied. And I weighed out the silver on a balance;)

11 and I took the book asealed of possession, and [the] askings and [the] answerings of the seller and [the] buyer, and [the] covenants, and [the] seals withoutforth. (and I took both copies of the deed of purchase, the sealed one, as by law and custom, and the unsealed one;)

12 And I gave the book of possession to Baruch, the son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel, the son of my father’s brother, and before the eyes of (the) witnesses that were written in the book of [the] buying, (and) before the eyes of all (the) Jews, that sat in the porch of the prison. (and I gave the copies of the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel, the son of my uncle, and in the sight of the witnesses who were named on the copies of the deed of purchase, and in the sight of all the Jews, who sat in the courtyard of the prison.)

13 And I commanded to Baruch before them, and I said,

14 The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, Take thou these books, this sealed book of buying, and this book which is open, and put thou those in an earthen(ware) vessel, that they may dwell many days. (The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith these things, Take thou these copies of the deed of purchase, both the sealed one, and the unsealed one, and put thou them in a clay jar, so that they can be safe there for many days.)

15 For why the Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, Yet houses, and fields, and vines shall be wielded in this land.

16 And I prayed to the Lord, after that I betook the book of possession to Baruch, the son of Neriah; and I said, (And I prayed to the Lord, after that I gave the copies of the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah; and I said,)

17 Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, Lord, thou madest heaven and earth in thy great strength, and in thine arm stretched forth; each word shall not be hard to thee; (Alas! alas! alas! Lord God, lo! thou madest the heavens and the earth with thy great strength, and with thy arm stretched forth; nothing shall be too hard for thee;)

18 which doest mercy in thousands, and yieldest the wickedness of fathers into the bosom of their sons after them. Thou strongest, great, mighty, Lord of hosts is name to thee; (who doest mercy to thousands, and yieldest the wickedness of the fathers into the bosom of their sons after them. O Strongest One, great, and mighty, the Lord of hosts is thy name;)

19 great in counsel, and uncomprehensible in thought, whose eyes be open on all the ways of the sons of Adam, that thou yield to each after his ways, and after the fruit of his findings (and after the fruits of his deeds);

20 which settedest signs and great wonders in the land of Egypt, unto this day, both in Israel, and in men; and madest to thee a name, as this day is (as it is this day).

21 And thou leddest thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt, in signs and in great wonders, and in a strong hand, and in an arm holden forth, and in great dread; (And thou leddest thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt, with signs and great wonders, and with a strong hand and an arm stretched forth, and with great fear;)

22 and thou gavest to them this land, which thou sworest to the fathers of them (which thou sworest to their fathers), that thou wouldest give to them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

23 And they entered, and had it in possession; and they obeyed not to thy voice, and they went not in thy law (but they did not obey thy commands, and they did not walk in thy Law); all things which thou commandedest to them to do, they did not (do); and all these evils befell to them.

24 Lo! strongholds be builded against the city, that it be taken, and the city is given into the hands of Chaldees, and into the hands of the king of Babylon, that fight against it, of the face of [the] sword, and of hunger, and of pestilence (because of the sword, and hunger, and pestilence); and whatever things thou spakest, befell, as thou thyself seest.

25 And thou saidest to me, Lord God, Buy thou a field for silver, and give thou witnesses, when the city is given in(to) the hands of Chaldees. (And, Lord God, thou saidest to me, Buy thou a field for silver, and have thou witnesses, even though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.)

26 And the word of the Lord was made to Jeremy, and said,

27 Lo! I am the Lord God of all flesh. Whether any word shall be hard to me? (Shall anything be too hard for me?)

28 Therefore the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall betake this city into the hands of Chaldees, and into the hand of (Nebuchadnezzar,) the king of Babylon, and he shall take it. (And so the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall deliver this city into the hands of the Chaldeans, and into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he shall take it/and he shall capture it.)

29 And Chaldees shall come, and fight against this city, and they shall burn it with fire, and they shall burn it, and [the] houses, in whose roofs they sacrificed to Baal, and offered moist sacrifices to alien gods, to stir me to wrath. (And the Chaldeans shall come, and fight against this city, and they shall burn it down, yea, they shall burn it down, and all the houses, on whose rooftops they sacrificed to Baal, and offered wine offerings to strange, or to foreign, gods, to stir me to anger.)

30 For why the sons of Israel, and the sons of Judah, did evil continually, from their young waxing age, before mine eyes; the sons of Israel, which till to now (hath) wrathed me by the work of their hands, saith the Lord. (For the Israelites, and the people of Judah, continually did evil, from their youth, before me; the Israelites, who until now have angered me with the work of their hands, saith the Lord.)

31 For why this city is made to me in my strong vengeance and indignation (For this city hath stirred my strong vengeance and my indignation), from the day in which they built it, unto this day, in which it shall be taken away from my sight;

32 (yea, taken away) for the malice of the sons of Israel, and of the sons of Judah, which they did, stirring me to wrathfulness, they, and the kings of them, the princes of them, and the priests, and prophets of them, the men of Judah, and the dwellers of Jerusalem. (yea, taken away for the malice of the Israelites, and of the people of Judah, which they did, stirring me to anger, they, and their kings, their princes, or their leaders, and their priests, and their prophets, yea, the people of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.)

33 And they turned to me the backs, and not the faces, when I taught, and informed them early; and they would not hear, that they should take teaching. (And they turned their backs on me/And they turned their backs to me, and not their faces, when I rose up early to teach them, and to inform them; and they would not listen, so that they would take my teaching to heart.)

34 And they setted their idols in the house, in which my name is called to help, that they should defoul it. (And they put their idols in the House, where my name is called on for help/which is called by my name, and so they did defile it.)

35 And they builded (the) high things to Baal, that be in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that they should hallow their sons and their daughters to Molech (And they built the high places, or the hill shrines, to Baal, that be in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, where they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech), which thing I commanded not to them, neither it ascended into mine heart, that they should do this abomination, and (so) bring [down] Judah into sin.

36 And now for these things, the Lord God of Israel saith these things to this city, of which ye say, that it shall be betaken into the hands of the king of Babylon, in sword, and in hunger, and in pestilence, (And now for these things, the Lord God of Israel saith these things to this city, of which ye say, that it shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, with the sword, and with hunger, and with pestilence,)

37 Lo! I shall gather them from all lands, to which I casted them out in my strong vengeance, and in my wrath, and in (my) great indignation; and I shall bring them again to this place, and I shall make them to dwell trustily.

38 And they shall be into a people to me, and I shall be into God to them. (And they shall be my people, and I shall be their God.)

39 And I shall give to them one heart, and one soul, that they dread me in all days, and that it be well to them, and to their sons after them. (And I shall give to them one heart, and one soul, so that they fear me forever/so that they revere me forever, and so that it be well with them, and with their children after them.)

40 And I shall smite to them a covenant everlasting, and I shall not cease to do well to them, and I shall give my dread in the heart of them, hat they go not away from me. (And I shall strike an everlasting covenant with them, and I shall not cease to do good things for them, and I shall put the fear of me in their hearts/and I shall put reverence for me in their hearts, so that they do not go away from me.)

41 And I shall be glad on them, when I shall do well to them; and I shall plant them in this land in truth, in all mine heart, and in all my soul. (And I shall be happy over them, when I shall do good things for them; and truly, with all my heart, and with all my soul, I shall plant them in this land.)

42 For the Lord saith these things, As I brought on this people all this great evil, so I shall bring on them all the good (things), which I shall speak to them (that I have promised them).

43 And fields shall be wielded in this land, of which ye say, that it is desert, for no man and beast is left; and it is given into the hands of Chaldees. (And fields shall be bought and sold in this land, of which ye say, It is but a wilderness, for no people or beasts be left here, and it is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.)

44 Fields shall be bought for money, and (it) shall be written (up) in a book, and a seal shall be (im)printed; and witnesses shall be given, in the land of Benjamin, and in the compass of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities in [the] hilly places, and in the cities in [the] field places, and in the cities that be at the south; for I shall turn (again) the captivity of them, saith the Lord. (Yea, fields shall be bought, and sold, for money, and deeds shall be signed, and sealed, and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, and all around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities in the hill country, and in the cities on the plains, or in the Negeb, and in the cities that be at the south; for I shall restore their fortunes, saith the Lord.)

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. 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.

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. 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. 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)

Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 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.’

“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; 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.”

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