Jeremiah’s Land Purchase

32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah^(A) king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.^{(B) 2} At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the guard’s courtyard^(C) in the palace of the king of Judah. ³ Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying, ‘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 Zedekiah king 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.^{(D) 5} He will take Zedekiah to Babylon where he will stay until I attend to him’—this is the Lord’s declaration. ‘You will fight the Chaldeans, but you will not succeed’?”^(E)

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^(F) for yourself, for you own the right of redemption^(G) to buy it.’

⁸ “Then my cousin Hanamel came to the guard’s courtyard as the Lord had said 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 to him the money^(H)—17 shekels^[b] of silver. ¹⁰ I recorded it on a scroll,^(I) sealed it, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver in 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^(J) son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. I did this in the sight of my cousin^[c] Hanamel, the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement, and all the Judeans sitting in the guard’s courtyard.

¹³ “I instructed Baruch in their sight, ¹⁴ ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts, 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 Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’^(K)

¹⁶ “After I had given the purchase agreement to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord: ¹⁷ Oh, Lord God! You Yourself made the heavens and earth^(L) by Your great power^(M) and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! ¹⁸ You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers’ sins on their sons’ laps after them,^(N) great and mighty God^(O) whose name is Yahweh of Hosts, ¹⁹ the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men in order to give to each person according to his ways and the result of his deeds.^{(P) 20} You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt^(Q) and do so to this very day both in Israel and among mankind. You made a name^(R) 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.^{(S) 22} You gave them this land You swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.^{(T) 23} They entered and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or live according to Your instructions.^(U) They failed to perform all You commanded them to do,^(V) and so You have brought all this disaster on them. ²⁴ Look! Siege ramps^(W) 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: Buy the field with silver and call in witnesses—even though the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans!”

²⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁷ “Look, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh.^(X) Is anything too difficult for Me? ²⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the Chaldeans,^(Y) to Babylon’s king Nebuchadnezzar, and he will capture it. ²⁹ The Chaldeans who are going to fight against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses where incense has been burned to Baal on their rooftops and where drink offerings have been poured out to other gods to provoke Me to anger.^{(Z) 30} From their youth, the Israelites and Judeans have done nothing but what is evil in My sight! They have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands”^(AA)—this is the Lord’s declaration— ³¹ “for this city has caused My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. I will therefore remove it from My presence,^{(AB) 32} because of all the evil the Israelites and Judeans have done to provoke Me to anger—they, their kings,^(AC) their officials, their priests, and their prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. ³³ They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them time and time again,^[d](AD) they do not listen and receive discipline. ³⁴ They have placed their detestable things^(AE) in the house that is called by My name and have defiled it. ³⁵ They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech^(AF)—something I had not commanded them. I had never entertained the thought^[e] that they do this detestable act causing Judah to sin!

³⁶ “Now therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to this city about which you said, ‘It has been handed over to Babylon’s king through sword, famine, and plague’: ³⁷ I am about to gather them from all the lands where I have banished them in My anger, rage and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them live in safety.^{(AG) 38} They will be My people, and I will be their God. ³⁹ I will give them one heart^(AH) and one way so that for their good and for the good of their descendants after them, they will fear Me always.

⁴⁰ “I will make an everlasting covenant with them:^(AI) I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put fear of Me in their hearts so they will never again turn away from Me. ⁴¹ I will take delight in them to do what is good for them, and with all My heart and mind I will faithfully plant them in this land.^(AJ)

⁴² “For this is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on these people,^(AK) so am I about to bring on them all the good I am promising them. ⁴³ Fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying,^(AL) ‘It’s a desolation^(AM) without man or beast; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans!’ ⁴⁴ Fields will be purchased with silver, the transaction written on a scroll and sealed,^(AN) and witnesses will be called on in the land of Benjamin,^(AO) in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in Judah’s cities—the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, and the cities of the Negev—because I will restore their fortunes.”^[f]

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Jeremiah’s Word to King Zedekiah

34 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,^(A) all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control,^(B) and all other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities: ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him: This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon,^(C) and he will burn it down. ³ As for you, you will not escape from his hand but are certain to be captured and handed over to him. You will meet the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak face to face;^[a](D) you will go to Babylon.

⁴ “Yet hear the Lord’s word, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; ⁵ you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you.^(E) ‘Our king is dead!’^[b] will be the lament for you, for I have spoken this word.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁶ So Jeremiah the prophet related all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem ⁷ while the king of Babylon’s army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah’s remaining cities—against Lachish and Azekah,^(F) for they were the only ones left of Judah’s fortified cities.

The People and Their Slaves

⁸ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom^(G) to them, ⁹ so each man would free his male and female Hebrew slaves and no one would enslave his Judean brother.^{(H) 10} All the officials and people who entered into covenant to free their male and female slaves—in order not to enslave them any longer—obeyed and freed them. ¹¹ Afterward, however, they changed their minds and took back their male and female slaves they had freed and forced them to become slaves again.

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ¹³ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant^(I) with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying: ¹⁴ At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who sold himself^[c] to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must send him out free from you.^(J) But your ancestors did not obey Me or pay any attention. ¹⁵ Today you repented and did what pleased Me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me^(K) at the temple called by My name.^{(L) 16} But you have changed your minds^(M) and profaned My name.^(N) Each has taken back his male and female slaves who had been freed to go wherever they wanted, and you have again subjugated them to be your slaves.

¹⁷ “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you”^(O)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth’s kingdoms. ¹⁸ As for those who disobeyed My covenant,^(P) not keeping the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat them like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.^{(Q) 19} The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf ²⁰ will be handed over to their enemies, to those who want to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.^{(R) 21} I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials over to their enemies, to those who want to take their lives, to the king of Babylon’s army that is withdrawing. ²² I am about to give the command”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down.^(S) I will make Judah’s cities a desolation,^(T) without inhabitant.”