Jeremiah 32
32
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1 #
2 Kgs 25.1–7
The LORD spoke to me in the tenth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, which was also the eighteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. 2At that time the army of the king of Babylonia was attacking Jerusalem, and I was locked up in the courtyard of the royal palace. 3King Zedekiah had imprisoned me there and had accused me of announcing that the LORD had said, “I am going to let the king of Babylonia capture this city, 4and King Zedekiah will not escape. He will be handed over to the king of Babylonia; he will see him face to face and will speak to him in person. 5Zedekiah will be taken to Babylonia, and he will remain there until I deal with him. Even if he fights the Babylonians, he will not be successful. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
6The LORD told me 7that Hanamel, my uncle Shallum's son, would come to me with the request to buy his field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, because I was his nearest relative and had the right to buy it for myself. 8Then, just as the LORD had said, Hanamel came to me there in the courtyard and asked me to buy the field. So I knew that the LORD had really spoken to me. 9I bought the field from Hanamel and weighed out the money to him; the price came to seventeen pieces of silver. 10I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the money on scales. 11Then I took both copies of the deed of purchase — the sealed copy containing the contract and its conditions, and the open copy — 12and gave them to Baruch, the son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence of Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase and of the people who were sitting in the courtyard. 13Before them all I said to Baruch, 14“The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, has ordered you to take these deeds, both the sealed deed of purchase and the open copy, and to place them in a clay jar, so that they may be preserved for years to come. 15The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, has said that houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”
Jeremiah's Prayer
16After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch, I prayed, 17“Sovereign LORD, you made the earth and the sky by your great power and might; nothing is too difficult for you. 18You have shown constant love to thousands, but you also punish people for the sins of their parents. You are a great and powerful God; you are the LORD Almighty. 19You make wise plans and do mighty things; you see everything that people do, and you reward them according to their actions. 20Long ago, you performed miracles and wonders in Egypt, and you have continued to perform them to this day, both in Israel and among all the other nations, so that you are now known everywhere. 21By means of miracles and wonders that terrified our enemies, you used your power and might to bring your people Israel out of Egypt. 22You gave them this rich and fertile land, as you had promised their ancestors. 23But when they came into this land and took possession of it, they did not obey your commands or live according to your teaching; they did nothing that you had ordered them to do. And so you brought all this destruction on them.
24“The Babylonians have built siege mounds round the city to capture it, and they are attacking. War, starvation, and disease will make the city fall into their hands. You can see that all you have said has come true. 25Yet, Sovereign LORD, you are the one who ordered me to buy the field in the presence of witnesses, even though the city is about to be captured by the Babylonians.”
26Then the LORD said to me, 27“I am the LORD, the God of the whole human race. Nothing is too difficult for me. 28#2 Kgs 25.1–11; 2 Chr 36.17–21I am going to give this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army; they will capture it 29and set it on fire. They will burn it down, together with the houses where people have made me angry by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out wine offerings to other gods. 30From the very beginning of their history the people of Israel and the people of Judah have displeased me and made me angry by what they have done. 31The people of this city have made me angry and furious from the day it was built. I have decided to destroy it 32because of all the evil that has been done by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, together with their kings and leaders, their priests and prophets. 33They turned their backs on me; and though I kept on teaching them, they would not listen and learn. 34#2 Kgs 23.10; Jer 7.30–31; 19.1–6They even placed their disgusting idols in the Temple built for my worship, and they have defiled it. 35#Lev 18.21; 2 Kgs 23.10; Jer 7.31They have built altars to Baal in the Valley of Hinnom, to sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. I did not command them to do this, and it did not even enter my mind that they would do such a thing and make the people of Judah sin.”
A Promise of Hope
36The LORD, the God of Israel, said to me, “Jeremiah, the people are saying that war, starvation, and disease will make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylonia. Now listen to what else I have to say. 37I am going to gather the people from all the countries where I have scattered them in my anger and fury, and I am going to bring them back to this place and let them live here in safety. 38Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. 39I will give them a single purpose in life: to honour me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants. 40I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me. 41I will take pleasure in doing good things for them, and I will establish them permanently in this land.
42“Just as I have brought this disaster on these people, so I am going to give them all the good things that I have promised. 43The people are saying that this land will be like a desert where neither people nor animals live, and that it will be given over to the Babylonians. But fields will once again be bought in this land. 44People will buy them, and the deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will take place in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages round Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, and in the towns in the hill country, in the foothills, and in southern Judah. I will restore the people to their land. I, the LORD, have spoken.”
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Jeremiah 32: GNBDK
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Jeremiah 32
32
Jeremiah Confined
1Yahweh spoke to me in the tenth year of Zedekiah’s reign in Judah, # 32:1 That is, 588 BC. In January of that year, the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem and they captured the city in July of 586 BC. which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. 2At that time, the Babylonian army was attacking Jerusalem, and I was confined in the king’s palace guardhouse. 3King Zedekiah had imprisoned me because I had prophesied Yahweh’s message: “I am Yahweh, and I am about to let the king of Babylonia conquer Jerusalem. 4King Zedekiah will not escape but will be captured and taken to the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, who will see him face-to-face and speak with him in person. 5Then Zedekiah will be taken captive to Babylon, where he will remain until I am finished with him. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed. For I, Yahweh, have decreed it.”
Jeremiah Buys a Field
6Then Yahweh spoke to me and said, 7“Your cousin Hanamel, # 32:7 Hanamel means “God’s gracious gift.” son of your uncle Shallum, # 32:7 There are fourteen persons with this name in the Old Testament. This man, Jeremiah’s uncle, is referred to only here. Shallum means “completion,” “perfection,” “restoration,” or “prosperity” and is etymologically related to shalom. will come to you and say: ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, # 32:7 Anathoth was Jeremiah’s birthplace (see 1:1). for you have the right of redemption to purchase it.’ ” # 32:7 Apparently, Hanamel was childless, which gave his next of kin (Jeremiah) the right to redeem the land as his own. It was Jeremiah’s duty to purchase it and keep it in the family. See Lev. 25:25–28; Ruth 4:1–6. 8And it happened just as Yahweh had said. My cousin Hanamel came to me in the palace guardhouse and said, “Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. As my nearest relative, you have the right of possession and redemption, so buy it.” Then I knew that this was Yahweh’s plan. # 32:8 The Babylonian invasion was imminent, yet amid the gloom and doom, the prophet was instructed to buy a field. This field was possibly at that very time occupied by the Babylonian army. Everyone around Jeremiah would have said that the land was worthless and should not be bought. Purchasing the field was a symbolic act that indicated that one day Judah would be delivered from the Babylonians (see v. 15). God’s instructions to Jeremiah were a sign of his foreknowledge and a prophecy for a future beyond the one that was now in view. Jeremiah’s obedience was an act of agreement and investment in God’s promises for the future. Jeremiah became a picture of our Lord Jesus who also “bought a field” (see Matt. 13:44 and footnote).
9So I bought the field from my cousin Hanamel at Anathoth and weighed out the purchase price to him of seventeen silver shekels. 10I signed the deed and sealed it, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11Then I took both the sealed deed of purchase (with the price and conditions of the sale) # 32:11 Some scholars omit the parenthetical information, believing that it was an early addition to the text. and the unsealed copy, 12and I handed them over to Baruch # 32:12 Baruch was Jeremiah’s amanuensis. In other words, he was a scribe, and he compiled much of Jeremiah’s writings. son of Neriah, grandson of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel. The witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase and all the people who happened to be in the palace guardhouse were gathered there. 13In their presence, I gave Baruch the order, 14“Yahweh, God of Israel, Commander of Angel Armies, says: ‘Take the sealed deed of purchase and its open copy and secure them in a clay pot # 32:14 The redemption rights of our inheritance have been given to us in Christ (see Eph. 1:3–14). We are the “clay jars that carry [a] glorious treasure within” (2 Cor. 4:1–7). so that they may be preserved for a long time.’ 15For Yahweh, God of Israel, Commander of Angel Armies, says: ‘People will once again buy houses, fields, and vineyards in this land.’ ”
Jeremiah’s Prayer
16After I had entrusted the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed: 17“Lord Yahweh, you stretched out your mighty arm and created the heavens and the earth by your awesome power. Nothing is impossible with you! # 32:17 Or “Nothing is too wonderful for you!” See Isa. 9:6. 18You show your loyal, tender love to thousands and thousands. But you also repay the guilt of fathers upon their children. # 32:18 In Christ, all our sins are forgiven, and grace is poured out to enable us to triumph over any generational issue in our family line. God’s love (shown to thousands) and his punishment (shown to the children) are set in stark contrast. The point is to see how much greater his love is. See Ex. 34:6–7; Deut. 5:9–10; 7:9–10. You are the great and mighty God, whose name is Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies. 19You surpass all with your wise counsel and wise planning. Your miracles reveal your mighty power. Your eyes see everything people do, and you repay each one according to what their ways and actions deserve. 20You performed signs and wonders in Egypt as you still do in Israel even to this day. Your name is famous yesterday, today, and forever. 21Your signs and wonders in Egypt resulted in rescuing your people Israel. You stretched out your mighty hand and bared your omnipotent arm and terrifying power. 22Then you gave them this land that you had promised their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23But when they entered and took possession of it, they would neither listen to your voice nor follow your law. They would do nothing you commanded them to do, so you brought this disaster on them. 24Look! The Babylonians have already set up siege ramps to take the city! Jerusalem is now within their clutches. The people will suffer from war, food shortages, and disease when they attack the city. What you prophesied has now come true, as you see. 25Yet you, Lord Yahweh, are the one who told me: ‘Buy the field, pay for it, and get witnesses,’ even though the Babylonians are about to capture the city.”
God Answers Jeremiah’s Prayer
26The word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 27“Behold, I am Yahweh, God of all the world. Nothing is impossible with me. 28Therefore, I say to you, I will hand Jerusalem over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar the king, and he will conquer it. # 32:28 See Jer. 52; see also 2 Kings 25:1–11; 2 Chron. 36:17–21. 29The attacking army of Babylon will seize this city, set it on fire, and burn it to the ground. The people offered sacrifices to Baal on those same rooftops and poured out drink offerings to other idols, provoking my anger. 30From their earliest history, the people of Israel and Judah alike have done evil in my presence. In fact, the people of Israel have done nothing but make me angry by their actions, declares Yahweh. 31From the day they built this city, these people have made me angry and furious. Therefore, I will destroy it 32because of all the wickedness of the people of Israel and Judah. They have all provoked my anger, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33They have turned their backs to me and not their faces. Even though I taught them so untiringly over and over, they would not listen or accept correction. 34Instead, they have defiled the house that bears my name by placing their detestable idols inside it. 35And in the Valley of Hinnom, they have built shrines to Baal. They have sacrificed their little sons and daughters to Molech in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it ever enter my thoughts!”
God’s Hope-Filled Promise
36Yahweh, God of Israel, says, “You say that because of war, plague, and food shortages that Jerusalem will fall and be handed over to the king of Babylon, but this is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 37I will graciously regather the people of Jerusalem although I was previously filled with anger and scattered them in foreign countries by my great indignation. Yes, I will bring them back to this place, and they will live under my protection. 38Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. 39I will give them one single purpose and one wonderful way to live so that they will always honor me, for their own good and for the good of their descendants. 40I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and I will never stop doing good things for them. I will inspire them to honor and respect me so that they will never walk away from me again. 41What delight I will have in doing good things for them! With all my heart and soul, I promise that they will be planted firmly in this land once again.
42“For Yahweh promises: Just as I have brought great disaster on the people, I will someday do all these great things for them. 43People will again buy fields in this land that you call a wasteland without men or animals. I have given it over to the Babylonians. 44Yes, people will pay cash for property, draw up deeds, seal them, and have them witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, throughout the villages around Jerusalem, the towns of Judah, the highlands, the western foothills, and the southern desert. For I will restore what was lost and bring the captives back to their land,” declares Yahweh.
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