Jeremiah 32:1-25

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the 1tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the 2courtyard of the guard, which was at the house of the king of Judah, 3because Zedekiah king of Judah had 3imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you 4prophesy, saying, ‘5This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to 6hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it; 4and Zedekiah king of Judah will 7not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will 8speak with him 9face to face and see him eye to eye. 5Then he will 10take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” declares the Lord. “If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will 11not succeed”’?”

6And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 7‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy for yourself my field which is at 12Anathoth, for you have the 13right of redemption to buy it.”’ 8Then my uncle’s son Hanamel came to me in the 14courtyard of the guard in accordance with the word of the Lord and said to me, ‘Buy my field, please, that is at 15Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the 16word of the Lord.

9“So I bought the field which was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son, and I 17weighed out the silver for him, seventeen 18shekels of silver. 10And I 1920signed and 21sealed the deed, and 22called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the 23terms and conditions and the open copy; 12and I gave the deed of purchase to 24Baruch the son of 25Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, in the sight of all the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 13And I commanded Baruch in their sight, saying, 14‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, so that they may 26last a long time.” 15For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “27Houses and fields and vineyards will again be purchased in this land.”’

16“After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I 28prayed to the Lord, saying, 17‘29Oh, Lord 30God! Behold, You Yourself have 31made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! 32Nothing is too difficult for You, 18who 33shows mercy to thousands, but 34repays the wrongdoing of fathers into the laps of their children after them, 35great and 36mighty God. The 37Lord of armies is His name; 1938great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose 39eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of mankind, 40giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; 20who has 41accomplished signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have 42made a name for Yourself, as at this day. 21You 43brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; 22and You gave them this land, which You 44swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23They 45came in and took possession of it, but they 46did not obey Your voice or 47walk in Your Law; they did not do 48anything that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made 49all this disaster happen to them. 24Behold, the 50assault ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city has been 51handed over to the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the 52sword, the famine, and the plague; and what You have spoken has 53come to pass; and behold, You see it. 25Yet You have said to me, Lord 54God, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”--although the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans.’”