Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah Buys a Field

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

2 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 at the king of Judah’s palace.

3 King Zedekiah had locked him up, saying, “Why do you keep prophesying, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it’?”

4 “And ‘Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Chaldeans, but will surely be handed over to the king of Babylon, speak with him face to face, and see him with his own eyes’?”

5 “And ‘He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him,’ declares the LORD. ‘Even if you fight the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.’”

The Purchase of the Field

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me:”

7 “‘Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum is coming to you and saying, “Buy my field in Anathoth, because you have the right of redemption to buy it.”’”

8 Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard, just as the LORD said, and told me to buy the field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. So I knew this was the word of the LORD.

9 I bought the field from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out the silver, seventeen shekels.

10 I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

11 I took the sealed copy of the purchase agreement with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy,

12 And gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who signed it, and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

Instructions to Preserve the Deeds

13 In their presence I instructed Baruch:

14 “This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, the sealed copy and the open copy, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time.”

15 “For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer

16 After I gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:

17 “Ah, Lord GOD! You made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You.”

18 “You show faithful love to thousands, but You repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them. Great and mighty God, the LORD of armies is Your name.”

19 “Great in counsel and mighty in action. Your eyes watch all the ways of people, to reward each one according to his ways and deeds.”

20 “You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day in Israel and among all mankind, making a name for Yourself.”

21 “You brought Your people Israel out of Egypt with signs, wonders, a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and great terror.”

22 “You gave them this land You swore to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

23 “They entered it and possessed it, but they did not obey You or follow Your law. They did nothing You commanded them to do, so You brought all this disaster on them.”

24 “Look, siege ramps are built against the city to capture it. Because of sword, famine, and plague, the city is handed over to the Chaldeans who are fighting it. What You said has happened, as You now see.”

25 “Yet You, Lord GOD, said to me, ‘Buy the field for silver and call in witnesses,’ even though the city is handed over to the Chaldeans.”

God’s Answer to Jeremiah

26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

27 “I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?”

Judgment on Jerusalem

28 Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am handing this city over to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will capture it.”

29 “The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, Along with the houses where people burned incense to Baal on their roofs and poured drink offerings to other gods, provoking Me to anger.”

30 “For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth. Indeed, they have done nothing but provoke Me with the work of their hands,” declares the LORD.

31 “This city has aroused My anger and wrath from the day it was built until today, so I will remove it from My sight.”

32 “Because of all the evil the sons of Israel and Judah have done to provoke Me, They, their kings, officials, priests, prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem.”

33 “They turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them again and again, they did not listen or accept correction.”

34 “They set up their disgusting idols in the house that bears My name and defiled it.”

35 “They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to Molech, Something I never commanded or even imagined.”

Promise of Restoration

36 “Now therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about this city you say will be handed over to the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and plague:”

37 “I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banished them in My anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and make them live in safety.”

38 “They will be My people, and I will be their God.”

39 “I will give them one heart and one way, so they will fear Me always, for their own good and for their children after them.”

40 “I will make a permanent covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put fear of Me in their hearts so they will never turn away from Me.”

41 “I will rejoice in doing good to them and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and all My soul.”

42 “For this is what the LORD says: Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good I promised them.”

43 “Fields will again be bought in this land that you say is a desolation without people or animals, handed over to the Chaldeans.”

44 “People will buy fields for silver, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses, In the land of Benjamin, in the areas around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev, For I will restore their fortunes,” declares the LORD.