CHAPTER 32
This is the word
that
came
to
Jeremiah
from the LORD
in the tenth
year
of Zedekiah
king
of Judah,
which
was the eighteenth
year
of Nebuchadnezzar.
At that time,
the army
of the king
of Babylon
was besieging
Jerusalem,
and Jeremiah
the prophet
was
imprisoned
in the courtyard
of the guard,
which was
in the palace
of the king
of Judah.
For
Zedekiah
king
of Judah
had imprisoned him,
saying:
“Why
are you
prophesying
that
the LORD
says:
‘Behold,
I am about to hand this
city
over to
the king
of Babylon,
and he will capture it.
Zedekiah
king
of Judah
will not
escape
from the hands
of the Chaldeans,
but
he will surely be handed over to
the king
of Babylon
to speak with him
face
to face
and to see him
eye
to eye.
He will take
Zedekiah
to Babylon,
where
he will stay
until
I attend to
him,
declares
the LORD.
If
you fight
against
the Chaldeans,
you will not
succeed.’”
Behold!
Hanamel,
the son
of your uncle
Shallum,
is coming
to
you to say,
‘Buy
for yourself
my field
in Anathoth,
for
you have
the right
of redemption
to buy it.’
Then, as the LORD
had said,
my cousin
Hanamel
came
to me
in the courtyard
of the guard
and urged me,
‘Please
buy
my field
in Anathoth
in the land
of Benjamin,
for
you own the right
of inheritance
and redemption.
Buy it
for yourself.'"
Then I knew
that
this
was the word
of the LORD.
So I bought
the field
in Anathoth
from my cousin
Hanamel,
and I weighed out
seventeen
shekels
of silver.
Then I took
the deed
of purchase—
the sealed
copy with its terms
and conditions,
as well as
the open copy—
and I gave
this deed
to
Baruch
son
of Neriah,
the son
of Mahseiah,
in the sight
of my cousin
Hanamel,
the witnesses
who were signing
the purchase
agreement,
and all
the Jews
sitting
in the courtyard
of the guard.
“This is what
the LORD
of Hosts,
the God
of Israel,
says:
Take
these
deeds—
both the sealed copy
and the
open
copy
of the
deed
of purchase—
and put them
in a clay
jar
to
preserve them
for a long
time.
For
this is what
the LORD
of Hosts,
the God
of Israel,
says:
Houses,
fields,
and vineyards
will again
be bought
in this
land.”
“Oh,
Lord
GOD!
You
have made
the heavens
and earth
by Your great
power
and outstretched
arm.
Nothing
is too difficult
for You!
You show
loving devotion
to thousands,
but lay
the sins
of the fathers
into
the laps
of their children
after them,
O great
and mighty
God
whose name
is the LORD
of Hosts,
the One great
in counsel
and mighty
in deed,
whose
eyes
are on
all
the ways
of the sons
of men,
to reward
each one
according to his ways
and the fruit
of his deeds.
You performed
signs
and wonders
in the land
of Egypt,
and You do so to
this very
day,
both in Israel
and among all mankind.
And You have made
a name for Yourself,
as is the case
to this day.
You brought Your people
Israel
out
of Egypt
with signs
and wonders,
with a strong
hand
and outstretched
arm,
and with great
terror.
You gave
them this
land
You had sworn
to give
their forefathers,
a land
flowing
with milk
and honey.
They came in
and possessed it,
but they did not
obey
Your voice
or walk
in Your law.
They failed
to perform
all
You commanded
them to do,
and so You have brought
upon them
all
this
disaster.
See how
the siege ramps
are mounted
against the city
to capture it.
And by
sword,
famine,
and plague,
the city
has been given
into the hand
of the Chaldeans
who are fighting
against it.
What
You have spoken
has happened,
as You
now see!
Yet You,
O Lord
GOD,
have said
to me,
‘Buy
for yourself
the field
with silver
and call in
witnesses,
even though the city
has been handed over to
the Chaldeans!’”
Therefore,
this is what
the LORD
says:
I am about to hand this
city
over to
the Chaldeans
and to
Nebuchadnezzar
king
of Babylon,
who will capture it.
And the Chaldeans
who are fighting
against
this
city
will come in,
set
it
on fire,
and burn it,
along with
the houses
of those who
provoked Me to anger
by burning incense
to Baal
on
their rooftops
and by pouring out
drink offerings
to other
gods.
For
the children
of Israel
and
of Judah
have done
nothing but
evil
in My sight
from their youth;
indeed,
they
have done nothing but
provoke Me to anger
by the work
of their hands,
declares
the LORD.
For
this
city
has aroused My wrath
and fury
from
the day
it was built
until now.
Therefore I will remove it
from
My presence
because of
all
the evil
the children
of Israel
and
of Judah
have done
to provoke Me to anger—
they,
their kings,
their officials,
their priests
and prophets,
the men
of Judah,
and the residents
of Jerusalem.
They have turned
their backs
to
Me and not
their faces.
Though I taught
them
again and again,
they would not
listen
or respond
to discipline.
They have built
the high places
of Baal
in the Valley of Hinnom
to make their sons
and daughters
pass through
the fire to Molech—
something
I never
commanded them,
nor had it ever
entered
My mind,
that they should commit
such
an abomination
and cause Judah
to sin.
Now
therefore,
about
this
city
of which
you
say,
‘It is given
into the hand
of the king
of Babylon
by sword
and famine
and plague,’
this is what
the LORD,
the God
of Israel,
says:
I will surely gather My people
from all
the lands
to which
I have banished them
in My furious anger
and great
wrath,
and I will return
them to
this
place
and make them dwell
in safety.
I will give
them one
heart
and one
way,
so that they will always fear Me
for their own good
and for the good of their children
after them.
I will make
an everlasting
covenant with them:
I will never
turn away
from
doing good to them,
and I will put
My fear
in their hearts
so that they will never
turn away
from Me.
Yes, I will rejoice
in
doing them good,
and I will faithfully
plant
them in this
land
with all
My heart
and soul.
For
this is what
the LORD
says:
Just as
I have brought
all
this
great
disaster
on
this
people,
so
I will
bring
on
them
all
the good
I
have promised
them.
And fields
will be bought
in this
land
about which
you
are saying,
‘It is
a desolation,
without
man
or beast;
it has been handed over to
the Chaldeans.’
Fields
will be purchased
with silver,
and deeds
will be signed,
sealed,
and witnessed
in the land
of Benjamin,
in the areas surrounding
Jerusalem,
and in the cities
of Judah—
the cities
of the hill country,
the foothills,
and
the Negev—
because
I will restore them
from captivity,
declares
the LORD."