Jeremiah 32:1-27

English Standard Version

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. ²At 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. ³For 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. ⁵And ^(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’?”

⁶Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: ⁷Behold, 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.’ ⁸Then 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. ¹¹Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. ¹²And 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. ¹³I 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. ¹⁵For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and ^(Y)fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

¹⁶“After I had given the deed of purchase to ^(Z)Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁷‘Ah, Lord God! It is ^(AA)you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by ^(AB)your outstretched arm! ^(AC)Nothing is too hard for you. ¹⁸^(AD)You show steadfast love to thousands, ^(AE)but you repay the guilt of fathers ^(AF)to their children after them, O great and ^(AG)mighty God, whose name is the ^(AH)Lord of hosts, ¹⁹^(AI)great in counsel and ^(AJ)mighty in deed, ^(AK)whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, ^(AL)rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. ²⁰You have shown ^(AM)signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, ^(AN)and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. ²¹^(AO)You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and ^(AP)outstretched arm, ^(AQ)and with great terror. ²²And you gave them this land, ^(AR)which you swore to their fathers to give them, ^(AS)a land flowing with milk and honey. ²³And they entered and took possession of it. ^(AT)But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. ²⁴Behold, ^(AU)the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and ^(AV)because of sword and famine and pestilence ^(AW)the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. ²⁵Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, ^(AX)“Buy the field for money ^(AY)and get witnesses”—though ^(AZ)the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”