Jeremiah 32:1-16

New International Reader's Version

Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came in the 10th year that Zedekiah was king of Judah. It was in the 18th year of the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. ² The armies of the king of Babylon were getting ready to attack Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was being held as a prisoner. He was kept in the courtyard of the guard. It was part of Judah’s royal palace.

³ Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had made Jeremiah a prisoner there. Zedekiah had said to him, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘The Lord says, “I am about to hand over this city to the king of Babylon. He will capture it. ⁴ Zedekiah, the king of Judah, will not escape from the powerful hands of the armies of Babylon. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. Zedekiah will speak with him face to face. He will see him with his own eyes. ⁵ Nebuchadnezzar will take Zedekiah to Babylon. Zedekiah will remain there until I deal with him,” announces the Lord. “Suppose you fight against the armies of Babylon. If you do, you will not succeed.” ’ ”

⁶ Jeremiah said, “A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, ⁷ ‘Hanamel is going to come to you. He is the son of your uncle Shallum. Hanamel will say, “Buy my field at Anathoth. You are my closest relative. So it’s your right and duty to buy it.” ’

⁸ “Then my cousin Hanamel came to me. I was in the courtyard of the guard. It happened just as the Lord had said it would. Hanamel said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. It is in the territory of Benjamin. It is your right to buy it and own it. So buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the Lord’s message. ⁹ So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver for him. ¹⁰ I signed and sealed the deed of purchase. I had some people witness everything. And I weighed out the silver on the scales. ¹¹ There were two copies of the deed. One was sealed and the other wasn’t. The deed included the terms and conditions of the sale. ¹² I gave Baruch the copies of the deed. My cousin Hanamel saw me do this. The witnesses who had signed the deed were there too. So were all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. Baruch was the son of Neriah. Neriah was the son of Mahseiah.

¹³ “I gave Baruch directions in front of all of them. I said, ¹⁴ ‘The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Take this deed of purchase. Take the sealed and unsealed copies. Put them in a clay jar. Then they will last a long time.” ¹⁵ The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.” ’

¹⁶ “I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah. Then I prayed to the Lord. I said,