Jeremiah 32
32
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah during Zedekiah’s tenth year as king of Judah. (This was Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year as king.) 2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was blockading Jerusalem.
The prophet Jeremiah was locked up in the courtyard of the prison. This prison was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3When King Zedekiah of Judah locked up Jeremiah, Zedekiah asked him, “Why are you prophesying? You are saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He will talk to Nebuchadnezzar in person and look him in the eye. 5Nebuchadnezzar will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and Zedekiah will stay there until I deal with him, declares the Lord. When you fight the Babylonians, you won’t win.’ ”
6Jeremiah said, “The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 7‘Jeremiah, your cousin Hanamel, son of Shallum, is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field that is in Anathoth, because as the closest relative it is your responsibility to buy it.” ’
8“Then, as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the prison. He said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. It is your responsibility to purchase it, because the rights of the closest relative belong to you. Buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that the Lord had spoken to me.
9“So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and gave him the money. The field cost seven ounces of silver. 10I signed the deed, sealed it, had people witness the signing of the deed, and paid out the silver. 11Then I took the sealed copy of the deed, containing the terms and conditions, as well as an unsealed copy. 12I gave the copies of the deeds to Baruch, son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who had signed the deed and in the presence of all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the prison. 13Then I gave Baruch these orders: 14‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Take both of these documents, both the sealed and the unsealed copies of the deed. Put them in a clay jar so that they will last a long time. 15This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: My people will again buy houses, fields, and vineyards in this land.’
16“After I had given the copies to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord. I prayed, 17‘Almighty Lord, you made heaven and earth by your great strength and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 18You show mercy to thousands of generations. However, you punish children for the wickedness of their parents. You, God, are great and mighty. Your name is the Lord of Armies. 19You make wise plans and do mighty things. You see everything the descendants of Adam do. You reward them for the way they live and for what they do. 20You performed miraculous signs and amazing things in Egypt. To this day you are still doing them in Israel. You made a name for yourself that continues to this day. 21You brought your people from Egypt with miraculous signs and amazing things, with a mighty hand and a powerful arm, and with great terror. 22You gave them the land that you swore with an oath to give their ancestors, the land flowing with milk and honey. 23They entered and took possession of it. However, they refused to obey you or to follow your teachings. They didn’t do anything you commanded them to do, so you brought all this disaster on them.
24“ ‘See how the dirt ramps have been built up around the city to capture it! Because of wars, famines, and plagues, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you have threatened to do has happened, as you can see. 25Yet you, Almighty Lord, told me to buy a field with money and get witnesses to confirm it, although the city was handed over to the Babylonians.’ ”
26The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, 27“I am the Lord God of all humanity. Nothing is too hard for me. 28This is what the Lord says: I’m going to hand this city over to the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. They will capture it.
29“The Babylonians who are attacking this city will break in, set this city on fire, and burn it down. They will burn down the houses of people who made me furious by going up to the roofs to burn incense to Baal and to pour out wine offerings to other gods. 30Ever since they were young, the people of Israel and Judah have done what I consider evil. The people of Israel have made me furious by what they’ve done,” declares the Lord. 31“The people in this city have made me so angry and furious from the day they built it to this day. So now I must remove this city from my presence.
32“The people of Israel and Judah have made me furious because they are evil. The people, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, and the Judeans and those who live in Jerusalem 33have turned their backs, not their faces to me. I taught them again and again, but they refused to listen and learn. 34They set up their detestable idols in the temple that is called by my name, and they dishonored it. 35In the valley of Ben Hinnom they built worship sites for Baal to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I didn’t ask them to do this. It never entered my mind. I didn’t make Judah sin.
36“You have said this about the city, ‘Because of wars, famines, and plagues it will be handed over to the king of Babylon.’ Now this is what the Lord God of Israel says: 37I am going to gather the people from all the lands where I scattered them in my anger, fury, and terrifying wrath. I will bring them back to this place and make them live here securely. 38They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39I will give them the same attitude and the same purpose so that they will fear me as long as they live. This will be for their own good and for the good of their children. 40I will make an eternal promise #32:40 Or “covenant.” to them that I will never stop blessing them. I will make them fear me so that they will never turn away from me. 41I will enjoy blessing them. With all my heart and soul I will faithfully plant them in this land.
42“This is what the Lord says: As I brought all these disasters on these people, so I will bring on them all these blessings that I have promised them. 43You have said that this land is a wasteland, without people or animals living in it. You have also said that it has been handed over to the Babylonians. But people will once again buy fields in this land. 44They will buy fields for money, sign deeds, seal them, and have people witness the signing of the deeds. This will happen in the territory of Benjamin, in the region of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities on the mountains, in the hill country, and in the Negev because I will bring them back from their captivity,” declares the Lord.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 32: GW
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 32
32
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. It was in the tenth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah. The tenth year of Zedekiah was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2At that time the army of Babylon was surrounding Jerusalem. Jeremiah was under arrest in the courtyard of the guard. This courtyard was at the palace of the king of Judah.
3Zedekiah king of Judah had put Jeremiah in prison there. Zedekiah had asked, “Why have you prophesied the things you have?” (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. 4Zedekiah king 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. Zedekiah 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,’ says the Lord. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”)
6While Jeremiah was prisoner, he said, “The Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 7Jeremiah, your cousin Hanamel will come to you soon. He is the son of your uncle Shallum. Hanamel will say to you, ‘Jeremiah, you are my nearest relative. So buy my field near the town of Anathoth. It is your right and your responsibility to buy that field.’
8“Then it happened just as the Lord had said. My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard. He said to me, ‘Buy my field near Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. Buy that land for yourself. It is your right to buy it and own it.’ So I knew this was a message from the Lord.
9“I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver for him. 10I signed the record that showed I now owned the field. And I had a copy of the record sealed up. Some men witnessed it and signed it also. And I weighed out the silver on the scales. 11Then I took the sealed copy of the record of ownership. And I took the copy that was not sealed. 12And I gave them to Baruch son of Neriah. Neriah was the son of Mahseiah. The sealed copy of the record of ownership had all the demands and limits of my purchase. I gave this paper of ownership to Baruch. It was while my cousin Hanamel and the other witnesses were there. Those witnesses also signed the record of ownership. There were also many Jews sitting in the courtyard. And they saw me give the record of ownership to Baruch.
13“With all the people watching, I said to Baruch, 14‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Take both copies of the record of ownership. Take both the sealed copy and the copy that was not sealed. And put them in a clay jar. Do this so that they will last a long time. 15This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: In the future my people will once again buy houses. They will also buy fields for grain and vineyards in the land of Israel.’
16“I gave the record of ownership to Baruch son of Neriah. Then I prayed to the Lord. I said: 17Oh, Lord God, you made the skies and the earth. You made them with your very great power. There is nothing too wonderful for you to do. 18Lord, you show love and kindness to thousands of people. But you also bring punishment to children for their fathers’ sins. Great and powerful God, your name is the Lord of heaven’s armies. 19You plan and do great things, Lord. You see everything that people do. You reward people for the way they live and for what they do. 20Lord, you did miracles and wonderful things in the land of Egypt. You have kept on doing them even until today. You did miracles in Israel and among the other nations. You have become well known. 21Lord, you used signs and miracles and brought your people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. You used your great power and strength to do those things. You brought great terror on everyone. 22Lord, you gave this land to the people of Israel. This is the land you promised to their ancestors long ago. It’s a land where much food grows. 23The people of Israel came into this land and took it for their own. But those people did not obey you. They did not follow your teachings. They did not do the things you commanded. So you made all these terrible things happen to them.
24“And now, the enemy has surrounded the city. They are building roads to the top of the walls. There will be war, hunger and terrible diseases. These will cause the city to be handed over to the Babylonians. They are attacking the city now. Lord, you said this would happen. And now you see it is happening. 25But now, Lord God, you are telling me, ‘Buy the field with silver. Choose some men to watch while I purchase it.’ You are telling me this while the Babylonian army is ready to capture the city.”
26Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: 27“I am the Lord. I am the God of every person on the earth. You know that nothing is impossible for me. 28So this is what I say: I will soon give the city of Jerusalem to the Babylonian army. And I will give it to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. That 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 to burn down the city. They will also burn down the houses. The people of Jerusalem made me angry. They offered sacrifices to Baal on the roofs# In Bible times houses were built with flat roofs. The roof was used for drying things such as flax and fruit. And it was used as an extra room, as a place for worship and as a place to sleep in the summer. of their houses. And the people poured out drink offerings to other idols. 30The people of Israel and Judah have done only the things I said were wrong. They have done this since they were young. They have made me angry by worshiping idols made with their own hands,” says the Lord. 31“From the day Jerusalem was built until now, they have made me very angry. Jerusalem has made me so angry I must remove it from my sight. 32I will destroy it. This is because of the evil the people of Israel and Judah have done. The people, their kings and officers have made me angry. Their priests and prophets have made me angry. All the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem have made me angry. 33They turned their backs to me. I tried to teach them again and again. But they wouldn’t listen to me. I tried to correct them, but they wouldn’t listen. 34They put their hated idols in the place where I have chosen to be worshiped. In this way they made it unclean. 35In the Valley of Ben Hinnom those people built places to worship Baal. They built them so they could burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to Molech. But I never commanded them to do such a hated thing. I never even thought of it! This would make Judah sin.
36“You are saying, ‘There will be war, hunger and terrible diseases. So the city will be handed over to the king of Babylon.’ But the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 37I have forced the people of Israel and Judah to leave their land. I was very furious and angry with them. But 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 make them want to be truly one people. They will have one goal. They will truly want to worship me all their lives. They will do this for their own good and for their children after them.
40“I will make an agreement with them. This agreement will last forever. And 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. 41I will enjoy doing good to them. And I will surely plant them in this land and make them grow. I will do this with my whole being.”
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 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. People will witness their signing records of ownership. They will again buy fields in the land of Benjamin and in the area around Jerusalem. They will buy fields in the towns of Judah and in the mountains. They will buy them in the western mountain slopes and in southern Judah. This is because I will make everything as good as it once was,” says the Lord.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.