Lament Turned to Joy

¹⁵ This is what the Lord says:

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says:

Repentance and Restoration

²³ This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “When I restore their fortunes,^[d] they will once again speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities: ‘May the Lord bless you, righteous settlement,^(L) holy mountain.’^{(M) 24} Judah and all its cities will live in it together—also farmers and those who move^[e] with the flocks— ²⁵ for I satisfy the thirsty person and feed all those who are weak.”^(N)

²⁶ At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.

²⁷ “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will sow the house of Israel^(O) and the house of Judah with the seed of people and the seed of animals. ²⁸ Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster,^(P) so will I watch over them to build and to plant them”^(Q)—this is the Lord’s declaration. ²⁹ “In those days, it will never again be said,

³⁰ Rather, each will die for his own iniquity.^(S) Anyone who eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge.

The New Covenant

³¹ “Look, the days are coming”^(T)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant^(U) with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³² This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”^[f](V)—the Lord’s declaration. ³³ “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴ No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’^(W) for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”^(X)—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity^(Y) and never again remember their sin.

³⁵ “This is what the Lord says:

³⁷ “This is what the Lord says:

³⁸ “Look, the days are coming”—the Lord’s declaration—“when the city^[g] from the Tower of Hananel^(AB) to the Corner Gate^(AC) will be rebuilt for the Lord. ³⁹ A measuring line will once again stretch out straight to the hill of Gareb^(AD) and then turn toward Goah. ⁴⁰ The whole valley—the corpses, the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley^(AE) to the corner of the Horse Gate^(AF) to the east—will be holy to the Lord. It will never be uprooted or demolished again.”

Jeremiah’s Land Purchase

32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of King Zedekiah^(A) of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.^{(B) 2} At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem,^(C) and the prophet Jeremiah was imprisoned in the guard’s courtyard^(D) in the palace of the king of Judah. ³ King Zedekiah of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why are you prophesying as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am about to hand this city over to Babylon’s king, and he will capture it. ⁴ King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Chaldeans; indeed, he will certainly be handed over to Babylon’s king. They will speak face to face^[a] and meet eye to eye.^{(E) 5} He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will stay until I attend to him—this is the Lord’s declaration. For you will fight the Chaldeans, but you will not succeed.’”^(F)

⁶ Jeremiah replied, “The word of the Lord came to me: ⁷ Watch! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth^(G) for yourself, for you own the right of redemption^(H) to buy it.’

⁸ “Then, as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to the guard’s courtyard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. ⁹ So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out the silver to him^(I)—seventeen shekels^[b] of silver. ¹⁰ I recorded it on a scroll,^(J) sealed it, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. ¹¹ I took the purchase agreement—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions and the open copy— ¹² and gave the purchase agreement to Baruch^(K) son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. I did this in the sight of my cousin^[c] Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the purchase agreement, and all the Judeans sitting in the guard’s courtyard.

¹³ “I charged Baruch in their sight, ¹⁴ ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Take these scrolls—this purchase agreement with the sealed copy and this open copy—and put them in an earthen storage jar so they will last a long time. ¹⁵ For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’^(L)

¹⁶ “After I had given the purchase agreement to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:^{(M) 17} Oh, Lord God! You yourself made the heavens and earth^(N) by your great power^(O) and with your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!^{(P) 18} You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers’ iniquity on their sons’ laps after them,^(Q) great and mighty God^(R) whose name is the Lord of Armies, ¹⁹ the one great in counsel and powerful in action. Your eyes are on all the ways of the children of men^[d] in order to reward each person according to his ways and as the result of his actions.^{(S) 20} You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt^(T) and still do today, both in Israel and among all mankind. You made a name^(U) for yourself, as is the case today. ²¹ You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.^{(V) 22} You gave them this land you swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.^{(W) 23} They entered and possessed it, but they did not obey you or live according to your instructions.^(X) They failed to perform all you commanded them to do,^(Y) and so you have brought all this disaster on them. ²⁴ Look! Siege ramps^(Z) have come against the city to capture it, and the city, as a result of the sword, famine, and plague, has been handed over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you have spoken has happened. Look, you can see it! ²⁵ Yet you, Lord God, have said to me, ‘Purchase the field and call in witnesses’—even though the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans!”