< Jeremiah 32 >
1 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.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah the king of Judah, which is the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.
2 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.
And at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the house of the king of Judah;
3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying like this? You claim that the LORD says, ‘Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.
Because Zedekiah the king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore art thou prophesying, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will give up this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.
4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.
And Zedekiah the king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, because he shall surely be given up into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak to his mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
5 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.’”
And to Babylon shall he lead Zedekiah, and there shall he remain until I think of him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
6 Jeremiah replied, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
7 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.’
Behold, Chanamel the son of Shallum thy uncle is coming unto thee, saying, Buy for thyself my field that is in 'Anathoth; for unto thee belongeth the right of redemption to buy it.
8 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.
And there came to me Chanamel my uncle's son according to the word of the Lord into the court of the prison, and he said unto me, Buy, I pray thee, my field, that is in 'Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for to thee belongeth the right of inheritance, and to thee belongeth the redemption, buy it for thyself: then did I know that it was the word of the Lord.
9 So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver.
And I bought the field from Chanamel my uncle's son, that is in 'Anathoth; and I weighed out unto him the money, seven shekels, and ten pieces of silver.
10 I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.
And I wrote it in a deed, and sealed it, and had it certified by witnesses, and weighed the money in balances.
11 Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy—
And I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, according to the law and custom, and that which was open;
12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.
And I gave the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, before the eyes of Chanamel my kinsman, and before the eyes of the witnesses that had signed the deed of the purchase, before the eyes of all the Jews that were sitting in the court of the prison.
13 In their sight I instructed Baruch,
And I charged Baruch before their eyes, saying,
14 “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.
Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase, both the sealed, and this open deed, and place them in an earthen vessel, in order that they may last many days.
15 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”
For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall there be bought houses and fields and vineyards in this land.
16 After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:
And I prayed to the Lord after I had delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriyah, saying,
17 “Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
Ah Lord Eternal! behold, it is thou that hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thy outstretched arm; nothing is too wonderful for thee;
18 You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts,
Thou exercisest kindness unto the thousandth [generation], and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers unto the bosom of their children after them; [thou art] the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts is his name;
19 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 according to the fruit of his deeds.
Great in counsel, and mighty in execution: [thou] whose eyes are open over all the ways of the sons of man, to give unto every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;
20 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.
Who hast displayed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, up to this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and thou hast made thyself a name, as it is at this day;
21 You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.
And thou didst bring forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
22 You gave them this land that You had sworn to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
And thou gavest them this land, which thou hadst sworn to their fathers to give unto them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23 They came in and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law. They failed to perform all that You commanded them to do, and so You have brought upon them all this disaster.
And they came in, and took possession of it; but they hearkened not to thy voice, and in thy law they did not walk; all that thou hadst commanded them to do they did not do: and thou hast therefore caused all this evil to befall them.
24 See how the siege ramps are mounted against the city to capture it. And by sword and famine and plague, the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened, as You now see!
Behold the mounds reach unto the city to capture it; and the city is given up into the hand of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.
25 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 delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans!’”
And yet thou hast said unto me, O Lord Eternal, Buy for thyself the field for money, and have it certified by witnesses: while the city is given up into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,
27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: shall any thing be too wonderful for me?
28 Therefore this is what the LORD says: Behold, I am about to deliver this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it.
Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will give up this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it:
29 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.
And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses upon the roofs of which they have offered incense unto Ba'al, and have poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, in order to provoke me to anger;
30 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 the children of Israel and the children of Judah have been doing only what is evil in my eyes from their youth; for the children of Israel have been only provoking me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord.
31 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
For to excite my anger and my fury hath been unto me this city from the day that they built it, even until this day; so that I will remove it from before my presence:
32 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.
Because of all the wickedness of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
33 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.
And they turned unto me the back, and not the face: though [my prophets] taught them, rising up early and teaching; yet they hearkened not to receive instruction.
34 They have placed their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it.
But they placed their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.
35 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.
And they built the high-places of Ba'al, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through [the fire] unto Molech; which I had not commanded them, and which had not come into my mind, to practise this abomination, in order to mislead Judah to sin.
36 Now therefore, about this city of which you say, ‘It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and famine and plague,’ this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
But now, therefore, thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, it is given up into the hand of the king of Babylon through the sword, and through the famine, and through the pestilence:
37 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.
Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, whither I have driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them back again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell in safety;
38 They will be My people, and I will be their God.
And they shall be unto me for a people, and I will be unto them for a God:
39 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.
And I will give them one heart, and one manner, to fear me at all times, that it may be well with them, and with their children after them;
40 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.
And I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good on my part; and my fear will I place in their heart, so that they may not depart from me.
41 Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
And I will be glad over them to do them good; and I will plant them in this land in truth, with all my heart and with all my soul.
42 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.
For thus hath said the Lord, Just as I have brought upon this people all this great evil, so will I bring upon them all the good that I speak concerning them.
43 And fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.’
And the field shall yet be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast, it is given up into the hand of the Chaldeans.
44 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.”
Men shall buy fields for money, and write it in deeds, and seal it, and certify it by witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the environs of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountain, and in the cities of the lowlands, and in the cities of the south; for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord.