Jeremiah 32

1 The word that has been to Jeremiah from YHWH in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah—it [is] the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar—

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.

2 And then the forces of the king of Babylon are laying siege against Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet has been shut up in the court of the prison that [is] in the house of the king of Judah,

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.

3 where Zedekiah king of Judah has shut him up, saying, “Why are you prophesying, saying, Thus said YHWH: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he has captured it;

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?

4 and Zedekiah king of Judah does not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but is certainly given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth has spoken with his mouth, and his eyes see his eyes,

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.

5 and he leads Zedekiah [to] Babylon, and there he is until My inspecting him—a declaration of YHWH—because you fight with the Chaldeans, you do not prosper.”

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.’”

6 And Jeremiah says, “A word of YHWH has been to me, saying,

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

7 Behold, Hanameel son of Shallum, your uncle, is coming to you, saying, Buy my field that [is] in Anathoth for yourself, for the right of redemption [is] yours to buy.”

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.’

8 And Hanameel, my uncle’s son, comes to me, according to the word of YHWH, to the court of the prison, and says to me, “Please buy my field that [is] in Anathoth, that [is] in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession [is] yours, and redemption yours—buy [it] for yourself.” And I know that it [is] the word of YHWH,

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.

9 and I buy the field that [is] in Anathoth from Hanameel, my uncle’s son, and I weigh the money to him—seventeen shekels of silver.

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.

10 And I write in a scroll, and seal, and cause witnesses to testify, and weigh the silver in balances;

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

11 and I take the purchase scroll, the sealed one, according to law and custom, and the open one;

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

12 and I give the purchase scroll to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel, my uncle’s son, and before the eyes of the witnesses, those writing in the purchase scroll, before the eyes of all the Jews who are sitting in the court of the prison.

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.

13 And I charge Baruch before their eyes, saying,

And I instructed Baruch, in their sight, saying:

14 “Thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: Take these scrolls, this purchase scroll, both the sealed one and the open one, and you have put them in an earthen vessel, that they may remain many days.

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.’

15 For thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards are bought in this land again.”

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

16 And I pray to YHWH after my giving the purchase scroll to Baruch son of Neriah, saying,

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

17 “Aah! Lord YHWH, behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power, and by Your outstretched arm; there is nothing too wonderful for You:

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.

18 doing kindness to thousands, and repaying iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their sons after them; God, the great, the mighty, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name;

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!

19 great in counsel, and mighty in act, in that Your eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of Adam, to give to each according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;

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.

20 in that you have done signs and wonders in the land of Egypt to this day, and in Israel, and among men, and You make for Yourself a name as [at] this day.

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.

21 And You bring forth Your people Israel from the land of Egypt, with signs and with wonders, and by a strong hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great fear,

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.

22 and you give to them this land that you swore to their fathers to give to them, a land flowing with milk and honey,

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.

23 and they come in, and possess it, and they have not listened to Your voice, and have not walked in Your law, all that which You laid a charge on them to do they have not done, and You proclaim all this calamity [to] them.

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.

24 Behold, the [siege] mounds have come to the city to capture it, and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it, because of the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence; and that which You have spoken has come to pass, and behold, You are seeing.

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.

25 Yet You have said to me, O Lord YHWH, Buy the field for yourself with money, and cause witnesses to testify—and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans!”

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?”

26 And the word of YHWH is to Jeremiah, saying,

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

27 “Behold, I [am] YHWH, God of all flesh: is anything too wonderful for Me?”

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

28 Therefore, thus said YHWH: “Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he has captured it.

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.

29 And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city have come in, and they have set this city on fire, and have burned it—and the houses on whose roofs they made incense to Ba‘al, and poured out drink-offerings to other gods, so as to provoke Me to anger.

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.

30 For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only evil in My eyes from their youth; for the sons of Israel are surely provoking Me with the work of their hands,” a declaration of YHWH.

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.

31 “For this city has been a cause of My anger and a cause of My fury, even from the day that they built it, and to this day—to turn it aside from before My face,

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,

32 because of all the evil of the sons of Israel, and of the sons of Judah that they have done, so as to provoke Me—they, their kings, their heads, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

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.

33 And they turn the neck to Me, and not the face, and teaching them, rising early and teaching, and they are not listening to accept instruction.

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.

34 And they set their abominations in the house over which My Name is called, so as to defile it.

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

35 And they build the high places of Ba‘al that [are] in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come up on My heart to do this abomination, so as to cause Judah to sin.

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.

36 And now, therefore, thus said YHWH, God of Israel, concerning this city, of which you are saying, It has been given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence:

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:

37 Behold, I am gathering them out of all the lands to where I have driven them in My anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath, and I have brought them back to this place, and have caused them to dwell confidently;

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.

38 and they have been to Me for a people, and I am to them for God;

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

39 and I have given to them one heart and one way, to fear Me all the days, for the good of them and their sons after them:

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.

40 and I have made a perpetual covenant for them, in that I do not turn back from after them for My doing them good, and I put My fear in their heart, so as not to turn aside from me;

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.

41 and I have rejoiced over them to do them good, and have planted them in this land in truth, with all my heart, and with all My soul.”

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.

42 For thus said YHWH: “As I brought to this people all this great calamity, so I am bringing on them all the good that I am speaking concerning them;

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.

43 and the field has been bought in this land of which you are saying, It [is] a desolation, without man and beast, it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

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.

44 They buy fields with money, so as to write in a scroll, and to seal, and to cause witnesses to testify, in the land of Benjamin, and in outskirts of Jerusalem, and in cities of Judah, and in cities of the hill-country, and in cities of the low country, and in cities of the south, for I return their captivity,” a declaration of YHWH.

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.”