Jeremiah 32
32
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah the king of Judah, that was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was laying siege to Jerusalem and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, 3where Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had confined him, saying,#Literally “to say” “Why are you prophesying, saying,#Literally “to say” ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Look, I am going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it, 4and Zedekiah, the king of Judah, will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but surely he will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will speak face to face with him#Literally “his mouth shall speak with his mouth” and he will see him eye to eye,#Literally “his eyes shall see his eyes” 5and to Babylon he will bring Zedekiah, and there he will be until my attending to him,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not be successful” ’?”
6And Jeremiah said, “The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,#Literally “to say” 7‘Look, Hanamel, the son of Shallum, your uncle, is going to come to you, saying,#Literally “to say” “Buy for yourself my field that is at Anathoth, for you have#Literally “to you is” the right of redemption to buy it.” ’#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 8Then Hanamel, the son of my uncle, came to me, to the courtyard of the guard according to#Literally “as” the word of Yahweh, and he said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is at Anathoth, that is in the land of Benjamin, for to you is the claim of possession, and to you the redemption; buy it#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of Yahweh.
9And I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle, that was at Anathoth. And I weighed out to him the money, seventeen silver shekels. 10And I signed on the letter#Or “scroll” and sealed it,#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and I called witnesses as witness, and I weighed out the money on a set of scales. 11Then I took the deed#Or “scroll” of the purchase, the sealed copy containing the commandments#Hebrew “commandment” and the rules, together with the one that was open. 12And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of#Literally “before the eyes of” Hanamel, the son of my uncle, and in the presence of#Literally “before the eyes of” the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, in the presence of#Literally “before the eyes of” the Judeans#Hebrew “Judean” who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 13And I commanded Baruch in their presence,#Literally “before their eyes” saying,#Literally “to say” 14‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Take these deeds,#Or “scrolls” this deed of the purchase, the sealed one, and this opened deed, and you must put them in an earthenware jar#Literally “jar of earthenware” so that they may be kept preserved many days.” 15For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.” ’
16And I prayed to Yahweh—after giving my deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah—saying,#Literally “to say” 17‘Ah Lord Yahweh! Look, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing#Literally “Not all a thing” is too difficult for you, 18showing loyal love to the thousands, and repaying the guilt of parents#Literally “fathers” into the laps#Hebrew “lap” of their children after them. Powerful, great, mighty, his name is Yahweh of hosts, 19great in counsel and great in deed, whose eyes are opened to all the ways of the children of humankind, to give to each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds, 20who accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, up to this day, and in Israel, and among humankind, and you have made for yourself a name, as it is this day.
21And you brought out your people Israel from the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an arm stretched out, and with great terror. 22And you gave to them this land, which you swore to their ancestors#Or “fathers” to give to them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23And they entered and took possession of it, but they did not listen to your voice, and they did not follow your law. They did nothing of all that you commanded to them to do, and you caused to happen to them all this disaster. 24Look, the siege ramps have come up to the city to capture it, and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it, because of the sword, the famine, and the plague, and what you spoke happened, and look, you are seeing it.#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 25Yet you have said to me, Lord Yahweh, “Buy for yourself the field with the money, and call witnesses as witness,” though the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”
26And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying,#Literally “to say” 27“Look, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh; is anything#Literally “all thing” too difficult for me?” 28Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh: “Look, I am going to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 29And the Chaldeans, who are fighting against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and they will burn it, and the houses where they have made smoke offerings on their roofs to Baal, and where they have devoted libations to other gods, in order to provoke me to anger. 30For the people#Or “sons/children” of Israel and the people#Or “sons/children” of Judah were doing only evil in my eyes from their youth, for the people#Or “sons/children” of Israel were only provoking me to anger by the work of their hands,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
31“For this city has been for me a cause of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even until this day, so I will remove it from my sight,#Literally “face” 32because of all the evil of the people#Or “sons/children” of Israel and the people#Or “sons/children” of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets, and the men#Hebrew “man” of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33And they have turned to me their backs#Hebrew “back” and not their faces, though I have taught them over and over again,#Literally “I have taught them doing early and teaching” but they were not listening to accept discipline. 34And they set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35And they built the high places of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to present as offerings their sons and their daughters to Molech, which I had not commanded them, and it had not come to my mind#Literally “heart” to do this detestable thing in order to cause Judah to sin.”
36“So now therefore,#Literally “to thus” thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning this city, of which you are saying, ‘It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the plague’: 37Look, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell in safety.#Literally “with confidence” 38And they will be for me a people, and I will be for them God. 39And I will give to them one heart and one way, to revere me forever,#Literally “all the days” for good to them, and to their children after them. 40And I will make#Literally “cut” with them an everlasting covenant#Literally “a covenant of eternity” that I will not turn away from them, my doing good to them, and my reverence I will put in their hearts#Hebrew “heart” so that they will not turn aside from me. 41And I will rejoice over them to do good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart, and with all my inner self.”#Or “soul”
42“For thus says Yahweh, ‘Just as I have brought to this people all this great disaster, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise to them. 43And the fields#Hebrew “field” will be bought in this land of which you are saying, “It is a desolation, without humankind or animals.#Literally “from there is not humankind and animal” It has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” 44They will buy fields with money, and they will sign the deeds,#Hebrew “scroll” and they will seal them,#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and they will call witnesses as witness in the land of Benjamin, and in the surroundings of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negev, for I will restore their fortunes,’#Hebrew “fortune” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.”
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Jeremiah 32
32
Killing and Disease Are on Our Doorstep
1-5The Message Jeremiah received from God in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah. It was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was holding Jerusalem under siege. Jeremiah was shut up in jail in the royal palace. Zedekiah, king of Judah, had locked him up, complaining, “How dare you preach, saying, ‘God says, I’m warning you: I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he will take it over. Zedekiah king of Judah will be handed over to the Chaldeans right along with the city. He will be handed over to the king of Babylon and forced to face the music. He’ll be hauled off to Babylon where he’ll stay until I deal with him. God’s Decree. Fight against the Babylonians all you want—it won’t get you anywhere.’”
6-7Jeremiah said, “God’s Message came to me like this: Prepare yourself! Hanamel, your uncle Shallum’s son, is on his way to see you. He is going to say, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth. You have the legal right to buy it.’
8“And sure enough, just as God had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me while I was in jail and said, ‘Buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, for you have the legal right to keep it in the family. Buy it. Take it over.’
“That did it. I knew it was God’s Message.
9-12“So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I paid him seventeen silver shekels. I followed all the proper procedures: In the presence of witnesses I wrote out the bill of sale, sealed it, and weighed out the money on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy that contained the contract and its conditions and also the open copy—and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. All this took place in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who had signed the deed, as the Jews who were at the jail that day looked on.
13-15“Then, in front of all of them, I told Baruch, ‘These are orders from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: Take these documents—both the sealed and the open deeds—and put them for safekeeping in a pottery jar. For God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Life is going to return to normal. Homes and fields and vineyards are again going to be bought in this country.”’
16-19“And then, having handed over the legal documents to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to God, ‘Dear God, my Master, you created earth and sky by your great power—by merely stretching out your arm! There is nothing you can’t do. You’re loyal in your steadfast love to thousands upon thousands—but you also make children live with the fallout from their parents’ sins. Great and powerful God, named God-of-the-Angel-Armies, determined in purpose and relentless in following through, you see everything that men and women do and respond appropriately to the way they live, to the things they do.
20-23“‘You performed signs and wonders in the country of Egypt and continue to do so right into the present, right here in Israel and everywhere else, too. You’ve made a reputation for yourself that doesn’t diminish. You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders—a powerful deliverance!—by merely stretching out your arm. You gave them this land and solemnly promised to their ancestors a bountiful and fertile land. But when they entered the land and took it over, they didn’t listen to you. They didn’t do what you commanded. They wouldn’t listen to a thing you told them. And so you brought this disaster on them.
24-25“‘Oh, look at the siege ramps already set in place to take the city. Killing and starvation and disease are on our doorstep. The Babylonians are attacking! The Word you spoke is coming to pass—it’s daily news! And yet you, God, the Master, even though it is certain that the city will be turned over to the Babylonians, also told me, Buy the field. Pay for it in cash. And make sure there are witnesses.’”
* * *
26-30Then God’s Message came again to Jeremiah: “Stay alert! I am God, the God of everything living. Is there anything I can’t do? So listen to God’s Message: No doubt about it, I’m handing this city over to the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He’ll take it. The attacking Chaldeans will break through and burn the city down: All those houses whose roofs were used as altars for offerings to Baal and the worship of who knows how many other gods provoked me. It isn’t as if this were the first time they had provoked me. The people of Israel and Judah have been doing this for a long time—doing what I hate, making me angry by the way they live.” God’s Decree.
31-35“This city has made me angry from the day they built it, and now I’ve had my fill. I’m destroying it. I can’t stand to look any longer at the wicked lives of the people of Israel and Judah, deliberately making me angry, the whole lot of them—kings and leaders and priests and preachers, in the country and in the city. They’ve turned their backs on me—won’t even look me in the face!—even though I took great pains to teach them how to live. They refused to listen, refused to be taught. Why, they even set up obscene god and goddess statues in the Temple built in my honor—an outrageous desecration! And then they went out and built shrines to the god Baal in the valley of Hinnom, where they burned their children in sacrifice to the god Molech—I can hardly conceive of such evil!—turning the whole country into one huge act of sin.
* * *
36“But there is also this Message from me, the God of Israel, to this city of which you have said, ‘In killing and starvation and disease this city will be delivered up to the king of Babylon’:
37-40“‘Watch for this! I will collect them from all the countries to which I will have driven them in my anger and rage and indignation. Yes, I’ll bring them all back to this place and let them live here in peace. They will be my people, I will be their God. I’ll make them of one mind and heart, always honoring me, so that they can live good and whole lives, they and their children after them. What’s more, I’ll make a covenant with them that will last forever, a covenant to stick with them no matter what, and work for their good. I’ll fill their hearts with a deep respect for me so they’ll not even think of turning away from me.
41“‘Oh how I’ll rejoice in them! Oh how I’ll delight in doing good things for them! Heart and soul, I’ll plant them in this country and keep them here!’
42-44“Yes, this is God’s Message: ‘I will certainly bring this huge catastrophe on this people, but I will also usher in a wonderful life of prosperity. I promise. Fields are going to be bought here again, yes, in this very country that you assume is going to end up desolate—gone to the dogs, unlivable, wrecked by the Babylonians. Yes, people will buy farms again, and legally, with deeds of purchase, sealed documents, proper witnesses—and right here in the territory of Benjamin, and in the area around Jerusalem, around the villages of Judah and the hill country, the Shephelah and the Negev. I will restore everything that was lost.’ God’s Decree.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.