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—
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 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,
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 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;
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 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,
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 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.”
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 says, “A word of YHWH has been to me, saying,
Jeremiah answered, “The Lord gave me a message, 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.”
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 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,
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 buy the field that [is] in Anathoth from Hanameel, my uncle’s son, and I weigh the money to him—seventeen shekels 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 write in a scroll, and seal, and cause witnesses to testify, and weigh the silver in balances;
I signed the deed and sealed it, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver using the scales.
11 and I take the purchase scroll, the sealed one, according to law and custom, and the open one;
Then I took the deed of sale, both the sealed original containing the terms and conditions, and the unsealed copy,
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 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 charge Baruch before their eyes, saying,
I gave Baruch these instructions in front of them,
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.
“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 said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards are bought in this land again.”
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 I pray to YHWH after my giving the purchase scroll to Baruch son of Neriah, saying,
After I had given the deed of sale to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:
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:
“Ah, Lord God! You created the heavens and the earth by your great strength and power. Nothing is too hard 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 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 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 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 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 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 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,
You led your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and miracles, with your great power and strength that terrified people.
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,
You gave them this land that you had promised to give their forefathers, 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.
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, 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.
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 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!”
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 YHWH is to Jeremiah, saying,
Then Lord gave Jeremiah this message:
27 “Behold, I [am] YHWH, God of all flesh: is anything too wonderful for Me?”
Look! I am the Lord, the God of everyone. Is anything too hard for me to do?
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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,
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 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 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 turn the neck to Me, and not the face, and teaching them, rising early and teaching, and they are not listening to accept instruction.
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 set their abominations in the house over which My Name is called, so as to defile it.
They have put their disgusting idols in my Temple, making it unclean.
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.
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, 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:
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 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;
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 have been to Me for a people, and I am to them for God;
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:
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 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;
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 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.”
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 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;
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 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.
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 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.
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.
