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.

The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

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.

And at that time the army of the king of Babylon was laying siege to 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, 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?

For Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, “Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take 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.

and Zedekiah, the king of Judah, shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldaeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

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.’”

and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah; though ye fight with the Chaldaeans, ye shall not prosper?”

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

Then said Jeremiah, The word of Jehovah came to me, and said:

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.’

Behold, Hanameel, the son of Shallum, thine uncle, will come to thee, and say, Buy thee my field which is in Anathoth, for thine is the redemption-right to 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.

And so Hanameel, the son of my uncle, came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of Jehovah, and said to me: Buy, I pray thee, my field, which is in Anathoth, for thine is the right of inheritance and redemption; buy it for thyself! Then I knew that this was the word of Jehovah.

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.

I bought, therefore, the field of Hanameel, my uncle's son, in Anathoth, and I paid him the money, seventeen shekels of silver.

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

And I wrote a deed, and sealed it, and took witnesses thereto, and weighed the silver in the balances.

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

And I took the purchase-deed, that which was sealed according to the law and the statutes, and that which was open,

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 I gave the purchase-deed to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the presence of Hanameel, my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses, who subscribed their names to the purchase-deed, and in the presence of all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.

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

And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying,

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.’

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these writings, this sealed purchase-deed, and this open deed, and put them into an earthen vessel, that they may endure a great length of 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 thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Yet again shall houses and fields and vineyards be bought in this land.

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

And when I had delivered the purchase-deed to Baruch, the son of Neriah, I prayed to Jehovah, saying,

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, Jehovah! Behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and thy stretched-out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.

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!

Thou showest kindness to a thousand generations, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of the children who come after them. The great, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts is his name,

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.

great in counsel and mighty in work; for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;

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.

who hast displayed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt even to this day, and in Israel, and among other men, and hast made thee a name, as at this day;

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.

and hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and with great terror,

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.

and hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, 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.

and they have come in and possessed it; but they have not obeyed thy voice, nor walked according to thy law. They have done nothing of all which thou commandedst them to do. Therefore hast thou caused all this evil to come upon 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.

Behold, the mounds of the enemy have already come up against the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldaeans, who fight against it by means 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 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?”

And yet hast thou said to me, O Lord Jehovah, “Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses thereto!” when the city is given into the hand of the Chaldaeans.

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

Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, saying:

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

Behold, I, Jehovah, am the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?

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.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldaeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he shall take 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.

And the Chaldaeans who fight against this city shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses upon whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out incense to other gods, to provoke me to anger.

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.

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil before me from their youth; yea, the children of Israel have but provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah.

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,

For this city hath been the object of my anger and my fury, from the day when they built it even to this day; that I might remove it from before my face,

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 wickedness of the children of Israel, and of the children of Judah, which they have committed 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 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.

For they have turned to me the back, and not the face; though I have taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet have they not hearkened to receive instruction.

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

And they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.

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.

And they have built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Moloch, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should practise their abomination, to cause Judah to 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:

Yet now thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel concerning this city, of which ye say, “It is delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

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.

Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries whither I have driven them in my anger and my fury and my great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell securely,

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

and they shall 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.

And I will give them one heart, and one way, to fear me continually, that it may be well with them, and with their children after them.

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.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, nor cease to do them good; for I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from 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.

Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land in truth, with my whole heart, and with my whole soul.

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.

For thus saith Jehovah: As I have brought upon this people all this great evil, so will I bring upon them all the good which I have promised them.

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.

And fields shall yet be bought in this land, of which ye say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldaeans.”

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.”

Fields shall men buy for money, and subscribe deeds, and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south; for I will bring them back from their captivity, saith Jehovah.