Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(A)in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, ^(B)which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ² At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet ^(C)was shut up in ^(D)the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. ³ For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(E)Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; ^4 (F)Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, ^(G)but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. ⁵ And ^(H)he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. ^(I)Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”

⁶ Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: ⁷ Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ^(J)‘Buy my field that is at ^(K)Anathoth, ^(L)for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ ⁸ Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in ^(M)the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at ^(N)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

⁹ “And I bought the field at ^(O)Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and ^(P)weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. ^10 (Q)I signed the deed, ^(R)sealed it, ^(S)got witnesses, and ^(T)weighed the money on scales. ¹¹ Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. ¹² And I gave the deed of purchase to ^(U)Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of ^(V)the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in ^(W)the court of the guard. ¹³ I charged ^(X)Baruch in their presence, saying, ¹⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. ¹⁵ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and ^(Y)fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

³⁶ “Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ^(A)‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: ^37 (B)Behold, I will gather them from all the countries ^(C)to which I drove them in ^(D)my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, ^(E)and I will make them dwell in safety. ^38 (F)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ^39 (G)I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, ^(H)for their own good and the good of their children after them. ^40 (I)I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. ^(J)And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. ^41 (K)I will rejoice in doing them good, ^(L)and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

⁴² “For thus says the Lord: ^(M)Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. ^43 (N)Fields shall be bought in this land ^(O)of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; ^(P)it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ⁴⁴ Fields shall be bought for money, and ^(Q)deeds shall be signed and ^(R)sealed and ^(S)witnessed, ^(T)in the land of Benjamin, ^(U)in the places about Jerusalem, ^(V)and in the cities of Judah, ^(W)in the cities of the hill country, ^(X)in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for ^(Y)I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”