The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

⭑ Unlocked Dynamic Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 32 -

After Zedekiah had been ruling Judah for almost ten years, Yahweh gave me another message, during the time that Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling Babylonia for almost eighteen years.

His army had surrounded Jerusalem, and Jeremiah was in a prison area in the courtyard where the guards of the king’s palace stayed.

King Zedekiah had put me there. I continued to prophesy there about what would happen. I continued to say, “Yahweh says that he is about to allow the army of the king of Babylon to capture this city.

And the soldiers of Babylonia will most definitely capture King Zedekiah and take him to the king of Babylon for a face to face encounter.

Then his soldiers will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will remain there until I arrange for him to be punished. And if he tries to fight against the soldiers from Babylonia, he will not succeed.” King Zedekiah asked Jeremiah why he continued to say that, but Yahweh had said this would be so.

At that time, Yahweh gave Jeremiah another message. He said,

“Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle, will come to you. He will say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, your hometown. Because you are my closest relative, it is written in our laws that you have the right to buy it before I ask if anyone else wants to buy it.’”

And just as Yahweh had predicted, my cousin Hanamel came to see me in the courtyard of the palace. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the area where the descendants of Benjamin live. It is written in our laws that you have the right to buy it before I ask if anyone else wants to buy it.” When he said that, I knew that the message that I had received was truly from Yahweh.

So, I bought the field at Anathoth. I paid Hanamel almost two hundred grams of silver for it.

I signed the paper on which it was written that I was buying it, while others were watching. Then I weighed the silver and gave it to him.

Then I took two copies of the paper. One was sealed and the other was not sealed. On both of them was written the price and conditions of the purchase. I took both copies

and I gave them to Baruch son of Neraiah, and the grandson of Mahseiah. I did this while my cousin Hanamel, the other witnesses who had signed the paper, and other men of Judah who were there in the courtyard, were watching.

Then, while they were all listening, I said to Baruch,

“This is what Yahweh, Commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, says: ’Take both copies of this paper and put them in a clay jar, to preserve them for a long time.

Do that because this is what I, Yahweh, Commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, say: Some day people will again own property in this land, and they will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

After I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to Yahweh, saying this:

“Yahweh, you are my Lord! You made the sky and the earth by your very great power. Nothing is too difficult for you to do.

You show thousands of people that you will always be faithful to your covenant with them, but people suffer the consequences of the sins that their parents have committed. You are the great and powerful God. You are Yahweh, Commander of the angel armies.

You make wise plans and you do mighty deeds. You see how all people behave, and you do to them what they deserve.

You performed many miracles in Egypt, and you continue to perform miracles here in Israel and everywhere else in the world. Because of that, you have become very famous.

You brought our Israelite ancestors out of Egypt by performing many great miracles, using your very great power, causing our enemies to be terrified.

You gave to us Israelite people this land that you solemnly promised to give to our ancestors, a land that is very fertile.

Our ancestors came here and conquered this land and started to live in it, but they refused to obey you or to do what you commanded them to do. Because of that, you have caused them to experience all these disasters.

And now, the army of Babylonia has built ramps up against our city walls in order to attack our city. Because of our enemies’ swords and because of famines and diseases, they will be able to conquer it easily. The things that you said would happen have now happened.

And it is evident that the Babylonian army will soon conquer this city. So now, Lord Yahweh, I do not understand why you told me to buy this field with my silver, while others were watching. It seems that I have just been wasting my money by doing that!”

The LORD Answers Jeremiah

Then Yahweh gave me this message:

“I am Yahweh, the God who rules over every living thing in the world. There is absolutely nothing that is too difficult for me to do.

So, this is what I say: It is true that I will enable the Babylonian army and King Nebuchadnezzar to capture this city.

The soldiers of Babylonia who are now outside the walls around the city will enter and burn this city. They will burn down all the houses where people caused me to become angry by burning incense on the tops of their roofs to honor Baal and by pouring out offerings of wine to other gods.

The people of Israel and Judah have continually done only evil things from the time that they became a nation. They have caused me to become very angry by all their evil deeds.

From the time that this city was built until now, the people of this city have done only things that caused me to be very angry. So now I will destroy it.

The people of Israel and Judah, including their kings, their officials, the priests, the false prophets, and all the other people in Jerusalem have committed many sins that have caused me to become angry.

My people have turned away from me and have refused to return to me. Even though I taught them things many times, they would not pay attention to what I taught them, and they would not obey me.

They have set up their detestable idols even in my own temple and defiled it.

They have built on the hilltops places to worship Baal in Ben Hinnom Valley outside Jerusalem, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to their god Molech. I never commanded them to do such horrible deeds. I never even considered ordering such a terrible thing. And by doing it they have caused all the people of Judah to be guilty of having sinned.”

A Promise of Restoration

(Ezekiel 11:13–21)

“But now I will say something more about this city. You people of Jerusalem have been saying, ‘The army of the king of Babylon will conquer it, either by their swords or because of famines or diseases.’ But this is what I, the God of Israel, say:

’I will certainly bring my people back here again, from all the countries to which I will force them to go because I am extremely angry with them. I will bring them back to this city and allow them to live here safely.

They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will give them one way of thinking and behaving, in order that they may revere me, for their good and for the good of their descendants.

I will make an agreement with them that will last forever: I will never stop doing good things for them, and they will always honor me; they will never stop worshiping me.

I will be happy to do good things for them, and I will surely enable them to return to this land and remain here; I will do that with all my inner being and all my strength.’

And this is also what I, Yahweh, say: ’I have caused them to experience all these disasters. Similarly, some day I will do for them all the good things that I have promised.

By buying land you, Jeremiah, have predicted that some day people will buy and sell fields in this land about which you people of Jerusalem now say, “The Babylonian soldiers have destroyed it. It is now desolate. It is a land where there are no longer any people or animals.”

But some day people will again buy and sell fields here. People will sign documents about buying those fields, and other people will witness them doing that. That will happen in the land where the descendants of Benjamin live and here in the villages near Jerusalem, in other towns in Judah, in the hill country and in the foothills to the west, and in the southern Judean wilderness. Some day I will cause them to prosper again. That will surely happen because I, Yahweh, have said it.’”

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, and say, ‘The LORD says, “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it;

and Zedekiah king of Judah won’t escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes will see his eyes;

and he will bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says the LORD, “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will not prosper”’?”

Jeremiah said, “The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.”’”

“So Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to the LORD’s word, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours. Buy it for yourself.’ “Then I knew that this was the LORD’s word.

I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels

(a)

of silver.

I signed the deed, sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances to him.

So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open;

and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.

“I commanded Baruch before them, saying,

the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.’

For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying,

“Ah Lord GOD! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you.

You show loving kindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them. The great, the mighty God, the LORD of Armies is your name:

great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;

who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, both in Israel and among other men; and made yourself a name, as it is today;

and brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, with wonders, with a strong hand, with an outstretched arm, and with great terror;

and gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

They came in and possessed it, but they didn’t obey your voice and didn’t walk in your law. They have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do. Therefore you have caused all this evil to come upon them.

“Behold, siege ramps have been built against the city to take it. The city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, of the famine, and of the pestilence. What you have spoken has happened. Behold, you see it.

You have said to me, Lord GOD, ‘Buy the field for money, and call witnesses;’ whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”

The LORD Answers Jeremiah

Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,

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

Therefore the LORD says: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.

The Chaldeans, who fight against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and burn it with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.

“For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, says the LORD.

For this city has been to me a provocation of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even to this day, so that I should remove it from before my face,

because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

They have turned their backs to me, and not their faces. Although I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.

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

They 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 fire to Molech, which I didn’t command them. It didn’t even come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.”

A Promise of Restoration

(Ezekiel 11:13–21)

Now therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning this city, about which you say, “It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:”

“Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again to this place. I will cause them to dwell safely.

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

I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good and the good of their children after them.

I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good. I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.

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

For the LORD says: “Just as I have brought all this great evil on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.

Fields will be bought in this land, about which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man or animal. It is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’

Men will buy fields for money, sign the deeds, seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their captivity to be reversed,” says the LORD.

Footnotes

(a)32:9 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.