Jeremiah 32
32
Why Jeremiah Bought Property
1The word that came to Jeremiah from Adonai, in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2Now at the time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the palace of the king of Judah.
3For King Zedekiah of Judah had shut him up, saying: “Why do you prophesy and say, thus says Adonai: ‘I will soon give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it;
4and King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to mouth and his eyes will behold his eyes;
5and he will lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there will he remain until I take note of him,’ says Adonai—though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will not succeed?”
6So Jeremiah said: “The word of Adonai came to me, saying:
7‘Hanamel, son of Shallum your uncle, will soon come to you saying: ‘Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.’”
8So my uncle’s son Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard as was the word of Adonai, and said to me: “Buy my field, please, which is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of Adonai.
9So I bought the field that was in Anathoth from the son of my uncle Hanamel, and weighed him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.
10I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.
11Then I took the purchase deed, both the sealed copy, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy,
12and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my uncle’s son Hanamel and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the purchase deed, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard.
13Then I charged Baruch before them, saying,
14thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds—this purchase deed, both the sealed copy and the open copy—and put them in a clay jar, so they may last many days.”
15For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land.”
16After I had given the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to Adonai, saying:
17“Ah, my Lord Adonai! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm—nothing is too hard for You!
18You are the One doing mercy to thousands, but repaying the iniquity of the fathers into the lap of their children after them. Great, mighty God, Adonai-Tzva’ot is His Name!
19Great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of men, to give each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
20You set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day in Israel and among mankind, and made Yourself a Name, as to this day.
21You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.
22You gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.
23They came in and possessed it. But they did not obey your voice nor walk in your Torah. They have done nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you caused all this evil to fall on them.
24Look, the siege ramps have just come up to the city to take it. The city has been handed over to the Chaldeans fighting against it, because of the sword, the famine and the pestilence. What You have spoken has happened. Here it is, You see it.
25Yet You said to me, my Lord Adonai: ‘Buy for yourself the field for money and call in witnesses’—even as the city is handed over to the Chaldeans.”
26Then came the word of Adonai to Jeremiah, saying:
27“Behold, I am Adonai, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?”
28Therefore thus says Adonai: “I am about to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.
29Then the Chaldeans fighting against this city will come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses—where they burned incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink-offerings to other gods, to provoke Me.
30For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth; indeed, the children of Israel have done nothing but provoke Me with the work of their hands,” declares Adonai.
31“Indeed this city has caused My anger and of My fury from the day that they built it up to this day, so that I will remove it from before My face,
32because of all the evil the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done to provoke Me—they, their kings, their princes, their kohanim, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33“They have turned their back to Me and not their face. Though I taught them early and often, they have not listened to receive instruction.
34Instead they set up their abominations in the House where My Name is called, to defile it.
35They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, to make their sons and their daughters pass through fire to Molech—something I never commanded them, nor did it enter My mind that they would do this loathsome thing, causing Judah to sin.”
36Now therefore thus says Adonai, the God of Israel, concerning this city, about which you say, “It is handed over to the king of Babylon by the sword, famine, and pestilence.
37“See, I will gather them out of all the countries, where I have driven them in My anger, My fury, and great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place and cause them to dwell securely.
38They will be My people, and I will be their God.
39I will give them one heart and one way, so they may fear Me forever; for their good and for their children after them.
40I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good for them. I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me.
41“Yes, I will delight in doing good for them, and with all My heart and all My soul I will in truth plant them in this land.”
42For thus says Adonai: “Just as I have brought all this great evil on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.
43So fields will be bought in this land, about which you are saying: ‘It will be a desolation, without man or beast; it is handed over to the Chaldeans.’
44Men will buy fields for money and sign and seal the deeds and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin and in the areas around Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah, in the towns of the hill-country, in the towns of the foothills, and in the cities of the South—because I will bring them back from exile.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 32: TLV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Jeremiah 32
32
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1This is the message from the Lord that came to Jeremiah during the tenth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah.#32:1 the tenth year … Judah This was 588–587 B.C. This was the year Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. The tenth year of Zedekiah was the 18th year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was surrounding the city of Jerusalem, and Jeremiah was under arrest in the courtyard of the guardhouse. This courtyard was at the palace of the king of Judah. 3King Zedekiah of Judah had put Jeremiah in prison in that place. Zedekiah didn’t like the things Jeremiah prophesied. Jeremiah had said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will soon give the city of Jerusalem to the king of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar will capture this city. 4King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the army of the Babylonians. But he will surely be given to the king of Babylon. And Zedekiah will speak to the king of Babylon face to face. He will see him with his own eyes. 5The king of Babylon will take Zedekiah to Babylon. Zedekiah will stay there until I have punished him.’ This message is from the Lord. ‘If you fight against the army of the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”
6While Jeremiah was a prisoner, he said, “This message from the Lord came to me. This was the message: 7‘Jeremiah, your cousin, Hanamel, will come to you soon. He is the son of your uncle Shallum. Hanamel will say to you, “Jeremiah, buy my field near the town of Anathoth. Buy it because you are my nearest relative. It is your right and your responsibility to buy that field.”’
8“Then it happened just as the Lord said. My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. Hanamel said to me, ‘Jeremiah, buy my field near the town of Anathoth, in the land of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy that land for yourself because it is your right to buy it and own it.’”
So I knew that this was a message from the Lord. 9I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out 17 shekels#32:9 shekel 2/5 of an ounce (11.5 g). of silver for him. 10I signed the deed and had a copy of the deed sealed up.#32:10 sealed up Important documents were rolled up and tied with a string. Then a piece of clay or wax was put on the string. Then a person’s mark was put in that clay or wax. This way, people could prove nothing in the document was changed. I got some men to witness what I had done, and I weighed out the silver on the scales. 11Then I took the sealed copy of the deed, which contained the demands and limits of my purchase, and the copy that was not sealed. 12I gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I did this while my cousin Hanamel and the other witnesses were there. They also signed the deed. There were also many people of Judah sitting in the courtyard of the guardhouse who saw me give the deed to Baruch.
13With all the people watching, I said to Baruch, 14“This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both copies of the deed—the sealed copy and the copy that was not sealed—and put them in a clay jar. Do this so that these deeds will last a long time.’ 15The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says, ‘In the future my people will once again buy houses, fields, and vineyards in the land of Israel.’”
16After I gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:
17“Lord GOD, with your great power you made the earth and the sky. There is nothing too hard for you to do. 18You are loyal and kind to thousands of people, but you also bring punishment to children for their fathers’ sins. Great and powerful God, your name is the Lord All-Powerful. 19You plan and do great things. You see everything that people do. You give a reward to those who do good things, and you punish those who do bad things—you give them what they deserve. 20You have been doing powerful miracles in the land of Egypt until now, in Israel and elsewhere. You are the one who made yourself as famous as you are today. 21You used powerful miracles and brought your people Israel out of Egypt. You used your own powerful hand to do this. Your power was amazing!
22“You gave the Israelites this land that you promised to give to their ancestors long ago. It is a very good land filled with many good things. 23They came into this land and took it for their own. But they didn’t obey you. They didn’t follow your teachings or do what you commanded. So you made all these terrible things happen to them.
24“And now the enemy has surrounded the city. They are building ramps so that they can get over the walls of Jerusalem and capture it. Because of war, hunger, and disease, the city of Jerusalem will fall to the Babylonian army. The Babylonians are attacking the city now. You said this would happen, and now you see it is happening.
25“Lord GOD, all those bad things are happening. But now you are telling me, ‘Jeremiah, buy the field with silver and choose some men to witness the purchase.’ You are telling me this while the Babylonian army is ready to capture the city. Why should I waste my money like that?”
26Then this message from the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27“Jeremiah, I am the Lord. I am the God of every person on the earth. You know that nothing is impossible for me.” 28The Lord also said, “I will soon give the city of Jerusalem to the Babylonian army and to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The army will capture the city. 29The Babylonian army is already attacking the city of Jerusalem. They will soon enter the city and start a fire. They will burn down this city. There are houses in this city where the people of Jerusalem made me angry by offering sacrifices to the false god Baal on the housetops. And they poured out drink offerings to other idol gods. The Babylonian army will burn down those houses. 30I have watched the people of Israel and the people of Judah. Everything they do is evil. They have done evil things since they were young. The people of Israel have made me very angry because they worship idols that they made with their own hands.” This message is from the Lord. 31“From the time that Jerusalem was built until now, the people of this city have made me angry. This city has made me very angry, so I must remove it from my sight. 32I will destroy Jerusalem because of all the evil things the people of Israel and Judah have done. The people, their kings, leaders, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah, and the people of Jerusalem have all made me angry.
33“They should have come to me for help, but they turned their backs to me. I tried to teach them again and again, but they would not listen to me. I tried to correct them, but they would not listen. 34They have made their idols, and I hate those idols. They put their idols in the Temple that is called by my name, so they made my Temple ‘dirty.’
35“In the Valley of Ben Hinnom,#32:35 Valley of Ben Hinnom This valley is also called “Gehenna.” This name comes from the Hebrew name “Ge Hinnom—Hinnom’s Valley.” This place became an example of how God punishes wicked people. they built high places to the false god Baal. They built those worship places so that they could burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices. I never commanded them to do such a terrible thing. I never even thought the people of Judah would do such a terrible thing.
36“You people are saying, ‘The king of Babylon will capture Jerusalem. He will use war, hunger, and disease to defeat this city.’ But this is what the Lord, the God of the people of Israel, says: 37‘I have forced the people of Israel and Judah to leave their land. I was very angry with them, but I will bring them back to this place. I will gather them from the land where I forced them to go. I will bring them back to this place. I will let them live in peace and safety. 38The people of Israel and Judah will be my people, and I will be their God. 39I will give them the desire to be one, united people. They will have one goal—to worship me all their lives. They and their children will want to do this.
40“‘I will make an agreement with the people of Israel and Judah that will last forever. In this agreement I will never turn away from them. I will always be good to them. I will make them want to respect me. Then they will never turn away from me. 41They will make me happy. I will enjoy doing good to them. And I will surely plant them in this land and make them grow. I will do this with all my heart and soul.’”
42This is what the Lord says: “I have brought this great disaster to the people of Israel and Judah. In the same way I will bring good things to them. I promise to do good things for them. 43You people are saying, ‘This land is an empty desert. There are no people or animals here. The Babylonian army defeated this country.’ But in the future people will once again buy fields in this land. 44They will use their money and buy fields. They will sign and seal their agreements. They will witness the people signing their deeds. They will again buy fields in the land where the tribe of Benjamin lives, in the area around Jerusalem, in the towns of the land of Judah, in the hill country, in the western foothills, and in the area of the southern desert. This will happen because I will bring them back home.” This message is from the Lord.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International