Jeremiah 32
1 The worde that came vnto Ieremiah from the Lord, in the tenth yere of Zedekiah king of Iudah, which was the eightenth yeere of Nebuchad-nezzar.
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 For then the King of Babels hoste besieged Ierusalem: And Ieremiah the Prophet was shutte vp in the court of the prison, which was in the King of Iudahs house.
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 King of Iudah had shut him vp, saying, Wherefore doest thou prophesie, and say, Thus saith the Lord, Beholde, I will giue this citie into the handes of the King of Babel, and he shall take 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 Iudah shall not escape out of the hande of the Caldeans, but shall surely be deliuered into the handes of the King of Babel, and shall speake with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall beholde his face,
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 shall lead Zedekiah to Babel, and there shall he be, vntil I visit him, saith ye Lord: though ye fight with the Caldeans, ye shall not prosper.
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 Ieremiah said, The word of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
Jeremiah answered, “The Lord gave me a message, saying:
7 Beholde, Hanameel, the sonne of Shallum thine vncle, shall come vnto thee and say, Bye vnto thee my fielde, that is in Anathoth: for the title by kindred appertaineth vnto thee to bye 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 So Hanameel, mine vncles sonne, came to mee in the court of the prison, according to the word of the Lord, and said vnto me, Bye my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the countrey of Beniamin: for the right of the possession is thine, and the purchase belongeth vnto thee: bye it for thee. Then I knewe that this was the worde 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 of Hanameel, mine vncles sonne, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the siluer, euen seuen shekels, and tenne pieces of siluer.
So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver to pay him.
10 And I writ it in the booke and signed it, and tooke witnesses, and weighed him the siluer in the balances.
I signed the deed and sealed it, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver using the scales.
11 So I tooke the booke of the possession, being sealed according to the Lawe, and custome, with the booke that was open,
Then I took the deed of sale, both the sealed original containing the terms and conditions, and the unsealed copy,
12 And I gaue the booke of the possession vnto Baruch the sonne of Neriah, the sonne of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine vncles sonne, and in the presence of the witnesses, written in the booke of the possession, before al the Iewes that sate in the court 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 charged Baruch before them, saying,
I gave Baruch these instructions in front of them,
14 Thus saith the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Take the writings, euen this booke of the possession, both that is sealed, and this booke that is open, and put them in an earthen vessell, that they may continue a long time.
“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 the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel saith thus, Houses and fieldes, and vineyardes shall be possessed againe 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 Now when I had deliuered the booke of the possession vnto Baruch, the sonne of Neriah, I prayed vnto the Lord, saying,
After I had given the deed of sale to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:
17 Ah Lord God, beholde, thou hast made the heauen and the earth by thy great power, and by thy stretched out arme, and there is nothing hard vnto thee.
“Ah, Lord God! You created the heavens and the earth by your great strength and power. Nothing is too hard for you!
18 Thou shewest mercie vnto thousands, and recompensest the iniquitie of the fathers into the bosome of their children after them: O God the great and mightie, whose Name is ye Lord of hostes,
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 Great in counsell, and mightie in worke, (for thine eyes are open vpon all the wayes of ye sonnes of men, to giue to euery one according to his wayes, and according to the fruite of his workes)
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 Which hast set signes and wonders in the land of Egypt vnto this day, and in Israel, and among all men, and hast made thee a Name, as appeareth 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 hast brought thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signes, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, with a stretched out arme, and with great terrour,
You led your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and miracles, with your great power and strength that terrified people.
22 And hast giuen them this land, which thou diddest sweare to their fathers to giue them, euen a land, that floweth with milke and hony,
You gave them this land that you had promised to give their forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
23 And they came in, and possessed it, but they obeyed not thy voyce, neither walked in thy Law: all that thou commaundedst them to doe, they haue not done: therefore thou hast caused this whole plague to come vpon 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 Beholde, the mounts, they are come into the citie to take it, and the citie is giuen into the hande of the Caldeans, that fight against it by meanes of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence, and what thou hast spoken, is come to passe, and beholde, thou seest it.
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 And thou hast sayd vnto me, O Lord God, Bye vnto thee the fielde for siluer, and take witnesses: for the citie shall be giuen into the hand of the Caldeans.
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 Then came the worde of the Lord vnto Ieremiah, saying,
Then Lord gave Jeremiah this message:
27 Beholde, I am the LORD GOD of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
Look! I am the Lord, the God of everyone. Is anything too hard for me to do?
28 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Beholde, I wil giue this citie into the hand of the Caldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchad-nezzar, King of Babel, and he shall take 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 Caldeans shall come and fight against this citie, and set fire on this citie and burne it, with the houses, vpon whose rouses they haue offred incense vnto Baal, and powred drinke offrings vnto other gods, to prouoke me vnto anger.
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 children of Israel, and the children of Iudah haue surely done euill before me from their youth: for the children of Israel haue surely prouoked me to anger with the workes of their hands, saith 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 Therefore this citie hath bene vnto me as a prouocation of mine anger, and of my wrath, from the day, that they built it, euen vnto this day, that I should remoue it out of 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 euill of the children of Israel, and of the children of Iudah, which they haue done to prouoke mee to anger, euen they, their Kings, their Princes, their Priests, and their Prophets, and the men of Iudah, and the inhabitants of Ierusalem.
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 haue turned vnto me the backe and not the face: though I taught them rising vp earely, and instructing them, yet they were not obedient to receiue doctrine,
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 But they set their abominations in ye house (whereupon my Name was called) to defile it,
They have put their disgusting idols in my Temple, making it unclean.
35 And they built the hie places of Baal, which are in the valley of Ben-hinnom, to cause their sonnes and their daughters to passe through the fire vnto Molech, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my minde, that they should doe such abomination, to cause Iudah to sinne.
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 nowe therefore, thus hath the Lord God of Israel spoken, concerning this citie, whereof ye say, It shalbe deliuered into the hand of the King of Babel by the sword, and by the famine, and by the 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 Beholde, I will gather them out of all countreys, wherein I haue scattered them in mine anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation, and I wil bring them againe vnto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.
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 shall be my people, and I will be their God.
They will be my people, and I will be their God.
39 And I wil giue them one heart and one way that they may feare me for euer for ye wealth of them, and of their children 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 wil make an euerlasting couenant with them, that I wil neuer turne away from them to doe them good, but I wil put my feare in their hearts, that they shall not depart 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 Yea, I wil delite in them to do them good, and I wil plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart, and with all my soule.
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 sayth the Lord, Like as I haue brought all this great plague vpon this people, so wil I bring vpon them all the good that I haue promised them.
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 the fields shalbe possessed in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast, and shalbe giuen into the hand of the Caldeans.
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 Men shall buy fields for siluer, and make writings and seale them, and take witnesses in the land of Beniamin, and round about Ierusalem, and in the cities of Iudah, and in the cities of the mountaines, and in the cities of the plaine, and in the cities of the South: for I wil cause their captiuitie to returne, saith 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.
