Jeremiah Buys a Field

32 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenthd year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenthe year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besiegingf Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confinedg in the courtyard of the guardh in the royal palace of Judah.

3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesyi as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capturej it. 4 Zedekiahk king of Judah will not escapel the Babyloniansa m but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5 He will taken Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him,o declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’ ”p

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth,q because as nearest relative it is your right and dutyr to buy it.’

8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my fields at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9 so I bought the fieldt at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekelsb of silver.u 10 I signed and sealed the deed,v had it witnessed,w and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy—12 and I gave this deed to Baruchx son of Neriah,y 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.

13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealedz and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’a

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

17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord,c you have made the heavens and the earthd by your great power and outstretched arm.e Nothing is too hardf for you. 18 You show loveg to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the lapsh of their childreni after them. Great and mighty God,j whose name is the Lord Almighty,k 19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds.l Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind;m you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.n 20 You performed signs and wonderso in Egyptp and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renownq that is still yours. 21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty handr and an outstretched arms and with great terror.t 22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.u 23 They came in and took possessionv of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law;w they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disasterx on them.

24 “See how the siege rampsy are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague,z the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you saida has happened,b as you now see. 25 And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the fieldc with silver and have the transaction witnessed.d’ ”

26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.e Is anything too hard for me?f 28 Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzarg king of Babylon, who will capture it.h 29 The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down,i along with the housesj where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offeringsk to other gods.l

30 “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth;m indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my angern with what their hands have made,o declares the Lord. 31 From the day it was built until now, this cityp has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must removeq it from my sight. 32 The people of Israel and Judah have provokedr me by all the evils they have done—they, their kings and officials,t their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 33 They turned their backsu to me and not their faces; though I taughtv them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline.w 34 They set up their vile imagesx in the house that bears my Namey and defiledz it. 35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnoma to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek,b though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mindc—that they should do such a detestabled thing and so make Judah sin.e

36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plaguef it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37 I will surely gatherg them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious angerh and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.i 38 They will be my people,j and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singlenessk of heart and action, so that they will always fearl me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenantm with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspiren them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.o 41 I will rejoicep in doing them goodq and will assuredly plantr them in this land with all my heart and soul.s

42 “This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamityt on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promisedu them. 43 Once more fields will be boughtv in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolatew waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ 44 Fields will be bought for silver, and deedsx will be signed, sealed and witnessedy in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev,z because I will restorea their fortunes,c declares the Lord.”