Jeremiah 32
32
Jeremiah’s Land Purchase
1The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah,#32:1a The tenth year of Zedekiah’s reign and the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was 587 b.c. king of Judah. This was also the eighteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.#32:1b Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, a variant spelling of Nebuchadnezzar; also in 32:28. 2Jerusalem was then under siege from the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. 3King Zedekiah had put him there, asking why he kept giving this prophecy: “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it. 4King Zedekiah will be captured by the Babylonians#32:4 Or Chaldeans; also in 32:5, 24, 25, 28, 29, 43. and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. 5He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and I will deal with him there,’ says the Lord. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed.’”
6At that time the Lord sent me a message. He said, 7“Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’”
8Then, just as the Lord had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the Lord.
9So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces#32:9 Hebrew 17 shekels, about 7 ounces or 194 grams in weight. of silver for it. 10I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him. 11Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase, 12and 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.
13Then I said to Baruch as they all listened, 14“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.’ 15For 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.’”
Jeremiah’s Prayer
16Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the Lord:
17“O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! 18You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 19You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve. 20You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt—things still remembered to this day! And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous to this day.
21“You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror. 22You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before—a land flowing with milk and honey. 23Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them.
24“See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said. 25And yet, O Sovereign Lord, you have told me to buy the field—paying good money for it before these witnesses—even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians.”
A Prediction of Jerusalem’s Fall
26Then this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 27“I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? 28Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 29The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods. 30Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the Lord. 31“From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.
32“The sins of Israel and Judah—the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets—have stirred up my anger. 33My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey. 34They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it. 35They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!
A Promise of Restoration
36“Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. 38They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. 40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. 41I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.
42“This is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them. 43Fields will again be bought and sold in this land about which you now say, ‘It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ 44Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold—deeds signed and sealed and witnessed—in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah#32:44 Hebrew the Shephelah. and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
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Jeremiah 32: NLT
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Jeremiah 32
32
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came in the 10th year that Zedekiah was king of Judah. It was in the 18th year of the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. 2The armies of the king of Babylon were getting ready to attack Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was being held as a prisoner. He was kept in the courtyard of the guard. It was part of Judah’s royal palace.
3Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had made Jeremiah a prisoner there. Zedekiah had said to him, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘The Lord says, “I am about to hand over this city to the king of Babylon. He will capture it. 4Zedekiah, the king of Judah, will not escape from the powerful hands of the armies of Babylon. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. Zedekiah will speak with him face to face. He will see him with his own eyes. 5Nebuchadnezzar will take Zedekiah to Babylon. Zedekiah will remain there until I deal with him,” announces the Lord. “Suppose you fight against the armies of Babylon. If you do, you will not succeed.” ’ ”
6Jeremiah said, “A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 7‘Hanamel is going to come to you. He is the son of your uncle Shallum. Hanamel will say, “Buy my field at Anathoth. You are my closest relative. So it’s your right and duty to buy it.” ’
8“Then my cousin Hanamel came to me. I was in the courtyard of the guard. It happened just as the Lord had said it would. Hanamel said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. It is in the territory of Benjamin. It is your right to buy it and own it. So buy it for yourself.’
“I knew that this was the Lord’s message. 9So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver for him. 10I signed and sealed the deed of purchase. I had some people witness everything. And I weighed out the silver on the scales. 11There were two copies of the deed. One was sealed and the other wasn’t. The deed included the terms and conditions of the sale. 12I gave Baruch the copies of the deed. My cousin Hanamel saw me do this. The witnesses who had signed the deed were there too. So were all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. Baruch was the son of Neriah. Neriah was the son of Mahseiah.
13“I gave Baruch directions in front of all of them. I said, 14‘The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Take this deed of purchase. Take the sealed and unsealed copies. Put them in a clay jar. Then they will last a long time.” 15The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.” ’
16“I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah. Then I prayed to the Lord. I said,
17“ ‘Lord and King, you have reached out your great and powerful arm. You have made the heavens and the earth. Nothing is too hard for you. 18You show your love to thousands of people. But you cause the sins of parents to affect even their children. Great and powerful God, your name is the Lord Who Rules Over All. 19Your purposes are great. Your acts are mighty. Your eyes see everything people do. You reward each one of them in keeping with their conduct. You do this based on what they have done. 20You performed signs and wonders in Egypt. And you have continued to do them to this day. You have done them in Israel and among all people. You are still known for doing them. 21You brought your people Israel out of Egypt. You did it with signs and wonders. You reached out your mighty hand and powerful arm. You did great and wonderful things. 22You gave Israel this land that you promised to their people of long ago. It is a land that has plenty of milk and honey. 23Israel came in and took it over. But they did not obey you. They didn’t follow your law. They didn’t do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this trouble on them.
24“ ‘See how ramps are built up against Jerusalem’s walls to attack it. The city will be handed over to the armies of Babylon. They are attacking it. It will fall because of war, hunger and plague. What you said would happen is now happening, as you can see. 25Lord and King, the city will be handed over to the armies of Babylon. In spite of that, you tell me to buy a field. You say, “Pay for it with silver. And have the sale witnessed.” ’ ”
26Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord said, 27“I am the Lord. I am the God of all people. Is anything too hard for me?” 28So the Lord says, “I am about to hand this city over to the armies of Babylon. I will give it to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He will capture it. 29The armies of Babylon are now attacking this city. They will come in and set it on fire. They will burn it down. They will burn down the houses where the people made me very angry. They burned incense on their roofs to the god named Baal. And they poured out drink offerings to other gods.
30“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my eyes. They have done it since the nation was young. In fact, they have done nothing but make me very angry. They have worshiped statues of gods their own hands have made,” announces the Lord. 31“This city has always stirred up my great anger. It has done it since the day it was built. Now I must remove it from my sight. 32The people of Israel and Judah have made me very angry. They have done many evil things. They, their kings and officials have sinned. So have their priests and prophets. And the people of Judah and Jerusalem have also sinned. 33They turned their backs to me. They would not face me. I taught them again and again. But they would not listen or pay attention when they were corrected. 34They set up the hateful statues of their gods. They did it in the house where I have put my Name. They made my house ‘unclean.’ 35The people built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. That is where they sacrifice their children to Molek in the fire. That is something I did not command. It did not even enter my mind. They did something I hate. They made Judah sin.”
36Here is what you people of Judah are saying about this city. “By war, hunger and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” But here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. 37“You can be sure that I will gather my people again. I will send them away when my burning anger blazes out against them. But I will bring them back to this place. And I will let them live in safety. 38They will be my people. And I will be their God. 39I will give them a single purpose in life. Then, they will always have respect for me. Then all will go well for them. And it will also go well for their children after them. 40I will make a covenant with them that will last forever. I promise that I will never stop doing good to them. I will cause them to respect me. Then they will never turn away from me again. 41I will take pleasure in doing good things for them. I will certainly plant them in this land. I will do these things with all my heart and soul.”
42The Lord says, “I have brought all this horrible trouble on these people. But now I will give them all the good things I have promised them. 43Once more fields will be bought in this land. It is the land about which you now say, ‘It is a dry and empty desert. It doesn’t have any people or animals in it. It has been handed over to the armies of Babylon.’ 44Fields will be bought with silver. Deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed. That will be done in the territory of Benjamin. It will be done in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah. It will also be done in the towns of the central hill country. And it will be done in the towns of the western hills and the Negev Desert. I will bless their people with great success again,” announces the Lord.
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