^32:12I took both copies of the deed of purchase²¹ and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence²² of my cousin²³ Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse. ^32:13In the presence of all these people I instructed Baruch, ^32:14‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all²⁴ says, “Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come.” ’²⁵^32:15For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all²⁶ says, “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.” ’²⁷

Jeremiah’s Prayer of Praise and Bewilderment

^32:16“After I had given the copies of the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord,

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Footnotes

21 Heb “the deed, the purchase.” This is a case of apposition of species in place of the genitive construction (cf. §131.b and compare the usage in Exod 24:5).
22 Heb “I took the deed of purchase, both that which was sealed [and contained] the order and the regulations and that which was open [i.e., unsealed], and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch … in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and in the presence of … and in the presence of.…” It is awkward to begin a sentence with “I took …” without finishing the thought, and the long qualifiers in v. 12 make that sentence too long. The sentence is broken up in accordance with contemporary English style. The reference to the “deed of purchase” in v. 12 should be viewed as a plural consisting of both written and sealed copies as is clear from v. 11 and also v. 14. Part of the confusion is due to the nature of this document which consisted of a single papyrus scroll, half of which was rolled up and sealed and the other half which was left “opened” or unsealed. J. Bright (Jeremiah [], 237–38) is probably incorrect in assuming that the copies were duplicate since the qualification “containing the order of transfer and the regulations” is only applied to the appositional participle, “the sealed one [or copy].” Aramaic documents from a slightly later period help us understand the nature of such deeds. The document consisted of a single papyrus sheet divided in half. One half contained all the particulars and was tightly rolled up, bound with strips of cloth or thread, sealed with wax upon which the parties affixed their seal, and signed by witnesses. The other copy consisted of an abstract and was left loosely rolled and unsealed (i.e., open to be consulted at will). If questions were raised about legality of the contract then the sealed copy could be unsealed and consulted.
23 The translation follows a number of Hebrew and the Greek and version in reading “the son of my uncles (= my cousin; בֶּן דֹּדִי, ben dodi).” The majority of Hebrew do not have the word “son of (בֶּן).”
24 Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study notes on .
25 Heb “many days.” See יוֹם 5.b for this usage.
26 Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study notes on .
27 The significance of the symbolic act performed by Jeremiah as explained here was a further promise (see the “again” statements in 31:4, 5, 23 and the “no longer” statements in 31:12, 29, 34, 40) of future restoration beyond the destruction implied in vv. 3–5. After the interruption of exile, normal life of buying and selling of fields, etc. would again be resumed and former property rights would be recognized.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘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. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying:

NIVNew International Version (2011)

and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

CSBChristian Standard Bible

and gave the purchase agreement to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. I did this in the sight of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the purchase agreement, and all the Judeans sitting in the guard’s courtyard.

“I charged Baruch in their sight, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Take these scrolls—this purchase agreement with the sealed copy and this open copy—and put them in an earthen storage jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

“After I had given the purchase agreement to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

NLTNew Living Translation

and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Then I said to Baruch as they all listened, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.’ For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’ ”

Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the Lord:

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel, the son of my uncle, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, in the presence of the Judeans who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase, the sealed one, and this opened deed, and you must put them in an earthenware jar so that they may be kept preserved many days.” For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.” ’

And I prayed to Yahweh—after giving my deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah—saying,

KJV 1900King James Version

And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison. And I charged Baruch before them, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the Lord, saying,

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