Beginning

32 The Word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, in the tenth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

² For then, the king of Babel’s host besieged Jerusalem. And Jeremiah the Prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

³ For Zedekiah, king of Judah, had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will give this city into the hands of the king of Babel, and he shall take it.

⁴ “And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hands of the king of Babel, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth. And his eyes shall behold his face,

⁵ “And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babel. And there he shall be until I visit him,” says the LORD. “Though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper.”’?”

⁶ And Jeremiah said, “The Word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁷ “Behold, Hanamel, the son of Shallum, your uncle, shall come to you and say, ‘Buy my field for yourself, which is in Anathoth. For the right of redemption is yours, to buy it.’

⁸ “So Hanamel, my uncle’s son, came to me in the court of the prison, according to the Word of the LORD, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field which is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin. For the right of the possession is yours, and the purchase yours. Buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the Word of the LORD.

⁹ “And I bought the field from Hanamel, my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and measured out to him the silver: seventeen shekels.

¹⁰ “And I wrote it in the book and signed it, and took witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

¹¹ “So I took the deed of purchase, being sealed according to the Law and custom, with the deed that was open.

¹² “And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel, my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses written in the deed of purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.

¹³ “And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

¹⁴ ‘Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Take the writings, this deed of purchase that is sealed and the deed that is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, so that they may last a long time.”

¹⁵ ‘For the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says thus: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.”’

¹⁶ “Now when I had delivered the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying,

¹⁷ ‘Ah, LORD God, behold. You have made the heaven and the earth by Your great power, and by Your outstretched Arm. And there is nothing hard for You.

¹⁸ ‘You show mercy to thousands and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them. O, God! The great and mighty! Whose Name is the LORD of Hosts,

¹⁹ ‘great in counsel and mighty in work, (for Your Eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give to everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works)

²⁰ ‘Who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt to this day and in Israel and among all men and has made Yourself a Name, as it is this day,

²¹ ‘and has 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 have given them this land which You swore to their fathers to give them, a land that flows with milk and honey.

²³ ‘And they came in and possessed it. But they did not obey Your Voice or walk in Your Law. All that You Commanded them to do, they have not done. Therefore, You have caused this whole plague to come upon them.

²⁴ ‘Behold the siege mounts. They have come into the city, to take it. And the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, who fight against it by means of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence. And what You have spoken has come to pass. And behold, You see it.

²⁵ ‘And You have said to me, O LORD God: “Buy the field for silver, and take witnesses.” For the city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’”

²⁶ Then came the Word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying:

²⁷ “Behold, I am the LORD, God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?”

²⁸ Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel. And he shall take it.

²⁹ “And the Chaldeans shall come and fight against this city and set fire to this city and burn it with the houses upon whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger.

³⁰ “For the children of Israel, and the children of Judah, have surely done evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have surely provoked Me to anger with the works of their hands,” says the LORD.

³¹ “Therefore this city has been to Me as a provocation of My anger, and of My wrath, from the day that they built it until this day, so that I should remove it out of My sight

³² “because of all the evil of the children of Israel, and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger — they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their Prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

³³ “And they have turned the back to Me and not the face. Though I taught them, rising up early and instructing them, still they were not obedient to receive doctrine.

³⁴ “But they set their abominations in the House upon which My Name was called, to defile it.

³⁵ “And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them. Nor did it come into My mind that they should do such abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

³⁶ “And now, therefore, thus has the LORD God of Israel spoken concerning this city, of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babel by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.’

³⁷ “Behold, I will gather them out of all countries to which I have scattered them in My anger, and in My wrath, and in great indignation. And I will bring them back to this place. And I will cause them to dwell safely.

³⁸ “And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

³⁹ “And I will give them one heart and one way, so that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and of their children after them.

⁴⁰ “And I will make an everlasting Covenant with them: that I will never turn away from them to do them good. But I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they shall not depart from Me.

⁴¹ “Yea, I will delight in them, to do them good. And I will assuredly plant them in this land with My whole Heart, and with all My Soul.

⁴² “For thus says the LORD: ‘Just as I have brought all this great plague upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

⁴³ “And the fields shall be possessed in this land of which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man or beast, and shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’

⁴⁴ “Men shall buy fields for silver, and make writings and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and all around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the plain, and in the cities of the South. For I will cause their captivity to return,’ says the LORD.”

33 Moreover, the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time (while he was still shut up in the court of prison) saying,

² “Thus says the LORD its maker, the LORD Who formed it and established it. The LORD is His Name:

³ ‘Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.’

⁴ “For thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are destroyed by the siege mounts and by the sword:

⁵ ‘They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill themselves with the dead bodies of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath. For I have hidden My Face from this city because of all their wickedness.

⁶ ‘Behold, I will give it health and healing. For I will cure them and will reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

⁷ ‘And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return and will build them as at first.

⁸ ‘And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me. Yea, I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me, and by which they have rebelled against Me.

⁹ ‘And it shall be to Me a Name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations of the Earth, which shall hear all the good that I do to them. And they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the wealth that I show to this city.’

¹⁰ “Thus says the LORD: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place which you say shall be desolate, without man and without beast in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem (that are desolate without man and without inhabitant and without beast)

¹¹ ‘the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who shall say, “Praise the LORD of Hosts because the LORD is good! For His mercy endures forever!” and of those who offer the sacrifice of praise in the House of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at first,’ says the LORD.

¹² “Thus says the LORD of Hosts: ‘Again, in this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall be dwelling for shepherds, to rest their flocks.

¹³ ‘In the cities of the mountains, in the cities in the plain, and in the cities of the South, and in the land of Benjamin, and around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the sheep pass again under the hand of him who counts them,’ says the LORD.

¹⁴ ‘Behold, the days come,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the House of Israel and to the House of Judah.

¹⁵ ‘In those days and at that time I will cause the Branch of Righteousness to grow up to David. And He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

¹⁶ ‘In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And He Who shall call her is the LORD Our Righteousness.’

¹⁷ “For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit upon the throne of the House of Israel.

¹⁸ ‘Nor shall the priests and Levites lack a man before Me to offer Burnt Offerings, and to offer Meat Offerings, and to do Sacrifice continually.’”

¹⁹ And the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁰ “Thus saith the LORD: ‘If you can break My Covenant of the day, and My Covenant of the night, so that there would not be day and night in their season,

²¹ ‘then may My Covenant be broken with David, My servant, so that he would not have a son to reign upon his throne, and with the Levites, priests, My ministers.

²² ‘As the army of Heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David, My servant, and the Levites who minister to Me.’”

²³ Moreover, the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

²⁴ “Do you not consider what this people has spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the LORD has chosen, He has also cast them off?’ Thus they have despised My people, so that they would no longer be a nation before them.’

²⁵ “Thus says the LORD: ‘If My Covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the order of Heaven and Earth,

²⁶ ‘then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David, My servant, and not take from his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captivity to return and have compassion on them.’”

34 The Word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, (when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, and all his army and all the kingdoms of the Earth under the power of his hand, and all people, fought against Jerusalem and against all its cites) saying,

² “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Go and speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babel. And he shall burn it with fire.

³ ‘And you shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand. And your eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babel. And he shall speak with you mouth to mouth. And you shall go to Babel.’

⁴ “Yet hear the Word of the LORD, O Zedekiah, king of Judah! Thus says the LORD of you: ‘You shall not die by the sword.

⁵ ‘You shall die in peace. And after the burnings for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so shall they burn incense for you. And they shall lament you, saying, “Oh LORD,” For I have pronounced the Word,’ says the LORD.”’”’”

⁶ Then Jeremiah the Prophet spoke all these Words to Zedekiah, king of Judah, in Jerusalem

⁷ when the king of Babel’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left — against Lachish and against Azekah (for only these strong cities remained from the cities of Judah).

⁸ This is the Word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them,

⁹ and that every man should let his Hebrew servant go free, either male or female, and that no one should have a Jewish brother as his servant.

¹⁰ Now, when all the princes and all the people who had agreed to the covenant heard that everyone should let his servants go free, both male and female, and that no one should make them his servants anymore, they obeyed and let them go.

¹¹ But afterward, they repented and caused the male and female servants whom they had freed to return. And they held them in subjection as servants again.

¹² Therefore, the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

¹³ “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I made a Covenant with your Fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of servants, saying,

¹⁴ “At the end of seven years, every man shall set free your Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you for six years. You shall let him go free from you.” But your fathers did not obey Me. Nor did they incline their ears.

¹⁵ ‘And now you had turned back and had done right in My sight in proclaiming liberty, every man to his neighbor, and you had made a Covenant before Me in the House upon which My Name is called.

¹⁶ ‘But you turned back again and polluted My Name. For you have caused every man’s male and female servant, whom you had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return. And you hold them in subjection, to be to you as male and female servants again.’

¹⁷ “Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty to every man’s brother and to every man’s neighbor. Behold, I proclaim a liberty to you,’ says the LORD, ‘to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine. And I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the Earth.

¹⁸ ‘And I will give those men who have broken My Covenant, and have not kept the Words of the Covenant which they had made before Me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts —

¹⁹ ‘the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf —

²⁰ ‘I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hands of those who seek their life. And their dead bodies shall be for food to the birds of the sky, and to the beasts of the earth.

²¹ ‘And Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his princes, I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life and into the hand of the king of Babel’s army, which has gone up from you.

²² ‘Behold, I will Command,’ says the LORD, ‘and cause them to return to this city. And they shall fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. And I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.’”