Jeremiah Prays and God Explains

16 “After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I (A)prayed to the Lord, saying, 17 (B)Oh, Lord [a]God! Behold, You Yourself have (C)made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! (D)Nothing is too difficult for You, 18 who (E)shows mercy to thousands, but (F)repays the wrongdoing of fathers into the laps of their children after them, (G)great and (H)mighty God. The (I)Lord of armies is His name; 19 (J)great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose (K)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of mankind, (L)giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; 20 who has (M)accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have (N)made a name for Yourself, as at this day. 21 You (O)brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; 22 and You gave them this land, which You (P)swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 They (Q)came in and took possession of it, but they (R)did not obey Your voice or (S)walk in Your Law; they did not do [b]anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made (T)all this disaster happen to them. 24 Behold, the (U)assault ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city has been (V)handed over to the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the (W)sword, the famine, and the plague; and what You have spoken has (X)come to pass; and behold, You see it. 25 Yet You have said to me, Lord [c]God, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans.’”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 32:17 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Jeremiah 32:23 Or all that
  3. Jeremiah 32:25 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

16 After I had given the documents to Baruch, Neriah’s son, I prayed to the Lord: 17 Lord God, you created heaven and earth by your great power and outstretched arm; nothing is too hard for you! 18 You act with mercy toward thousands upon thousands, but you also bring the consequences of the fathers’ sins on their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of heavenly forces, 19 marvelous are your purposes, and mighty are your deeds. You are aware of all the ways of humanity, and you reward us for how we live and what we do even now. 20 You have performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt as you do to this very day in Israel and everywhere else. That’s why you are so renowned. 21 With a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and with awesome power, yes, with signs and wonders, you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt. 22 You gave them this land that you promised to their ancestors, a land full of milk and honey. 23 They entered and took possession of it, but they didn’t obey you or follow your Instruction. In fact, they didn’t do anything you commanded them. So you brought upon them this disaster. 24 Now the siege ramps are in place to take the city. And the Babylonians are about to capture it by war, famine, and disease. What you have pronounced is now happening, as you can see. 25 So why tell me, Lord God, Buy the field for money and make sure there are witnesses, when the city is under Babylonian control?

Read full chapter