Jeremiah 32

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

This is the Lord's message that came to Jeremiah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah's reign, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign.

2 It was then that the army of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem. And Jeremiah, the prophet, was confined to the atrium of the prison, which was in the house of the king of Judah.

This was when the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the guard's courtyard, part of the king of Judah's palace.

3 For Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had confined him, saying: “Why do you make predictions, saying: ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it?

Zedekiah king of Judah had put him in prison, telling him: “Why do you have to prophesy like this? You say the Lord is saying, ‘Look, I'm going to hand over this city to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

4 And Zedekiah, the king of Judah, will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans. Instead, he will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon. And he will speak to him, mouth to mouth, and he will see him, eye to eye.

Zedekiah king of Judah won't escape from the Babylonians. He will be captured and taken to the king of Babylon to speak with him personally and see him face to face.

5 And he will lead Zedekiah to Babylon. And he will be there until I visit him, says the Lord. So then, if you contend against the Chaldeans, you will have no success.’”

He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he'll remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. You won't be successful if you fight against the Babylonians.’”

6 And Jeremiah said: “The word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Jeremiah answered, “The Lord gave me a message, saying:

7 Behold, Hanamel, the son of Shallum, your cousin, will come to you, saying: ‘Buy for yourself my field, which is in Anathoth. For it is your right, as next of kin, to buy it.’

Your cousin Hanamel, son of Shallum, is coming to tell you, ‘Why don't you buy my field in Anathoth because you have the right to redeem it and buy it?’

8 And in accord with the word of the Lord, Hanamel, the son of my uncle, came to me, to the entrance of the prison, and he said to me: ‘Take possession of my field, which is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. For the right of inheritance is yours, and as the next of kin you may possess it.’ Then I understood that this was the word of the Lord.

Just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel arrived to see me in the guard's courtyard and asked me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin because you have the right of family ownership to redeem it. You should buy it for yourself.’” This convinced me that this was a message from the Lord.

9 And I bought the field, which is in Anathoth, from Hanamel, the son of my uncle. And I weighed out the money to him, seven small coins and ten pieces of silver.

So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver to pay him.

10 And I wrote it in a book and signed it, and I summoned witnesses. And I weighed out the silver on a scale.

I signed the deed and sealed it, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver using the scales.

11 And I received the signed deed of possession, and the stipulations, and the ratifications, with the exterior seals.

Then I took the deed of sale, both the sealed original containing the terms and conditions, and the unsealed copy,

12 And I gave the deed of possession to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel, the son of my uncle, in the sight of the witnesses who had been recorded in the book of the purchase, and in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the atrium of the prison.

and handed them to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. I did this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of sale, and all the people of Judah who were sitting there in the guard's courtyard.

13 And I instructed Baruch, in their sight, saying:

I gave Baruch these instructions in front of them,

14 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Take these writings, this sealed deed of purchase, and this deed which is open, and place them in an earthen vessel, so that they will be preserved for many days.’

“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Put these deeds of sale, the sealed original and the open copy, in a clay jar so they can be kept safe for a long time.

15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Houses, and fields, and vineyards will be possessed still, in this land.’

For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: The time will come when once again houses, fields, and vineyards will be bought in this country.”

16 And after I had delivered the deed of possession to Baruch, the son of Neri, I prayed to the Lord, saying:

After I had given the deed of sale to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

17 Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God! Behold, you have made heaven and earth, by your great strength and by your outstretched arm. No word is difficult for you.

“Ah, Lord God! You created the heavens and the earth by your great strength and power. Nothing is too hard for you!

18 You act with mercy a thousand-fold, but you repay the iniquity of the fathers into the sinews of their sons after them. The Lord of hosts is your name: most strong, great, and powerful!

You give your trustworthy love to thousands, but you punish the sins of the fathers the consequences affect their children too., Great and powerful God whose name is the Lord Almighty,

19 You are great in counsel and incomprehensible in thought. Your eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of Adam, so that you may repay each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his intentions.

you are the one who is supremely wise and who does incredible things. You watch what everyone does, and you reward them according to the way they live and what their actions deserve.

20 You caused signs and portents in the land of Egypt, and in Israel, and among men, even until this day. And you have made a name for yourself, just as in this day.

You carried out signs and miracles in Egypt, and you still do so today, both here in Israel and among all people everywhere. As a result you gained a great reputation, and this is still true today.

21 And you have led your people Israel away from the land of Egypt, with signs and portents, and with a robust hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.

You led your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and miracles, with your great power and strength that terrified people.

22 And you have given them this land, which you swore, to their fathers, that you would give to them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

You gave them this land that you had promised to give their forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

23 And they entered it and possessed it. But they did not obey your voice, and they did not walk in your law. And they did not do all of the things that you commanded them to do. And so, all of these evils have happened to them.

They came and took it over, but they didn't do what you said or follow your laws. They didn't do everything you ordered them to do, which is why you've brought all this disaster down on them.

24 Behold, fortifications were built against the city, so as to capture it. And the city was given into the hands of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, before the face of the sword, and of famine, and of pestilence. And what you have spoken has occurred, just as you yourself discern.

Look at the siege ramps piled up against the city to capture it! Through war and famine and disease, the city will be taken by the Babylonians who are attacking it. You can see that everything you said would happen has happened.

25 So why, O Lord God, are you saying to me: ‘Buy a field with money, and summon witnesses,’ while the city is being given into the hands of the Chaldeans?”

Yet, Lord God, you have told me, ‘Buy yourself the field with silver in front of witnesses, even though the city has been handed over to the Babylonians!’”

26 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying:

Then Lord gave Jeremiah this message:

27 “Behold, I am the Lord God; I am above all flesh. Can any word be difficult for me?

Look! I am the Lord, the God of everyone. Is anything too hard for me to do?

28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hands of the Chaldeans, and into the hands of the king of Babylon, and they will capture it.

So this is what the Lord says: Listen! I'm going to hand over this city to the king of Babylon and the Babylonians, and they will capture it.

29 And the Chaldeans fighting against this city will advance, and set fire to it, and burn it, along with the houses on whose roofs they were offering sacrifice to Baal and were pouring out libations to strange gods, so that they provoked me to wrath.

The Babylonians who are attacking the city are going to come and set fire to it. They will burn it down, including the houses belonging to the people who made me angry by burning incense to Baal on their rooftops, and by pouring out drink offerings in worship of other gods.

30 For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah, from their youth, have continually done evil in my eyes. The sons of Israel, even until now, have been provoking me with the work of their hands, says the Lord.

From their earliest days all the people of Israel and of Judah have ever done has been evil in my sight. In fact all they've even done is to make me angry through their actions, declares the Lord.

31 For this city has been a cause of fury and indignation to me, from the day when they built it, until this day, in which it will be taken away from my sight,

This city has been such a source of anger and frustration from the time it was built right up till now. So I'm going to get rid of it,

32 because of all the wickedness of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah, which they have done, provoking me to wrath, they and their kings, their leaders and their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

because of all the evil things the people of Israel and Judah did that made me angry—their kings, and officials, their priests and prophets, all of those living in Judah and Jerusalem, everyone

33 And they have turned their backs to me, and not their faces. And though I taught them and instructed them, rising at first light, they were not willing to listen, so that they would receive discipline.

They have turned their backs on me. They wouldn't even look at me. Even though I kept on trying to teach them, they refused to listen or accept instruction.

34 And they have placed their idols in the house where my name is invoked, so that they defiled it.

They have put their disgusting idols in my Temple, making it unclean.

35 And they have built the exalted places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, so that they may initiate their sons and their daughters into Molech, though I did not command, nor did it enter into my heart, that they should do this abomination, and so lead Judah into sin.

They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the Valley of Hinnom so they could sacrifice their sons and daughters by burning them in the fire. This is something I never commanded. I never even thought of such a thing—doing something so awful and making the people of Judah guilty of sin.

36 And now, because of these things, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to this city, about which you say that it will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence:

Now about this city. You are correctly saying, “It's going be handed over to the king of Babylon through war and famine and disease.” However, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:

37 Behold, I will gather them together from all the lands to which I have cast them out in my fury, and in my wrath, and in my great indignation. And I will lead them back to this place, and I will cause them to live in confidence.

I promise to gather my people from all the lands where I exiled them because they made me so very angry. I will bring them back here and they will live in safety.

38 And they will be my people, and I will be their God.

They will be my people, and I will be their God.

39 And I will give to them one heart and one way, so that they may fear me all their days, and so that it may be well with them, and with their sons after them.

I will make sure they think the same way and act in harmony, so that they will always honor me so all will be good for them and their descendants.

40 And I will form an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not cease to do good for them. And I will put my fear into their heart, so that they do not withdraw from me.

I will make an everlasting agreement with them: I'm never going to stop doing them good and I will help them to respect me so that they won't ever abandon me.

41 And I will rejoice over them, while I do good for them. And I will plant them in this land, in truth, with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

I will be delighted to treat them well, and I will commit myself with the whole of my being to helping them to grow as a nation in this land.

42 For thus says the Lord: Just as I have led over this people all this great evil, so will I lead over them all the good that I am speaking to them now.

This is what the Lord says: Just as certainly as I have brought this whole disaster down on my people, so I'm going to give to them all the good things I have promised.

43 And fields will be possessed in this land, about which you say that it is desolate because there remains neither man nor beast, and because it has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

Fields will once again be bought in this country that you're describing, saying, “It's been completely destroyed—no people or animals are left. It's been handed over to the Babylonians.”

44 Fields will be bought for money, and deeds will be written and signed, and witnesses will be summoned, in the land of Benjamin and all around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, and in the cities on the mountains, and in the cities on the plains, and in the cities that are toward the south. For I will convert their captivity, says the Lord.”

People will buy fields with silver again, deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will happen here in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in all the towns of Judah—including the towns of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev—because I will bring the people back from exile, declares the Lord.