1 T his 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.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

2 A t that time the army of the king of Babylon was around Jerusalem. And Jeremiah the man of God was shut up in the open space of the prison, in the house of the king of Judah.

For the king of Babylon’s army was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the house of the king of Judah.

3 F or King Zedekiah of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you speak these things in the Lord’s name? You have said, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I am giving this city to the king of Babylon, and he will take it.

For Zedekiah king of Judah had locked him up, saying, Why do you prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

4 K ing Zedekiah of Judah will not get away from the Babylonians. For sure he will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon. He will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.

And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hands of the Chaldeans but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye;

5 H e will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says the Lord. “If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not win.”’”

And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, says the Lord; and though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper ?

6 J eremiah said, “The Word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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

7 ‘ Hanamel, the son of your father’s brother Shallum, will come to you and say, “Buy my field at Anathoth. For because of your place in the family you have the right to buy it.”’

Behold, Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you and say, Buy my field that is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.

8 T hen Hanamel, the son of my father’s brother, came to me in the open space of the prison, as the Word of the Lord had said. And he said to me, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. For you have the right to own it. Because of your place in the family you have the right, so buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the Word of the Lord.

So Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard in accordance with the word of the Lord, and he said to me, I pray you, 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 word of the Lord.

9 S o I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel, the son of my father’s brother. And I weighed out seventeen pieces of silver for him.

And I bought the field that was in Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle’s son and weighed out for him the money—seventeen shekels of silver.

10 I wrote my name and put my mark on the agreement, and called in people to watch. And I weighed the silver.

And I signed the deed and sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed out for him the money on the scales.

11 T hen I took the agreement which showed that I had bought the field, both the agreement which was not to be opened, and the open one.

So I took the deed of the purchase—both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and the copy which was unsealed—

12 A nd I gave the written agreement to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. This was seen by Hanamel, the son of my father’s brother, and by those who watched me write my name on the agreement, and by all the Jews who were sitting in the open space of the prison.

And I gave the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle’s son and the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, in the presence of all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard.

13 I said to Baruch in front of them,

And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

14 ‘ This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: “Take these agreements, both the closed and open one, and put them in a clay jar so they may last a long time.”

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this unsealed deed, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last a long time.

15 F or the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Houses and fields and grape-fields will again be bought in this land.”’ Jeremiah’s Prayer

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall be purchased yet again in this land.

16 “ After I had given the agreement showing I had bought the field to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying,

Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying:

17 ‘ O Lord God! See, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your long arm! Nothing is too hard for You!

Alas, 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 or too wonderful for You—

18 Y ou show loving-kindness to thousands, but put punishment for the sins of fathers on their children after them. O great and powerful God, the Lord of All is Your name.

You Who show loving-kindness to thousands but recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosoms of their children after them. The great, the mighty God; the Lord of hosts is His name—

19 Y ou are great in wisdom and powerful in Your works. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men. You pay every one for what he does and for the fruit of what he does.

Great in counsel and mighty in deeds, Whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to reward or repay each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings,

20 Y ou have made special things to see and have done wonders in the land of Egypt, and are still doing them even to this day both in Israel and among all men. You have made a name for Yourself as it is today.

Who wrought signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day, both in Israel and among other men, and made for Yourself a name, as at this day.

21 Y ou brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with special things to see and with wonders, and with a strong hand and a long arm, and with much trouble.

And You brought forth Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm and with great terror;

22 A nd You gave them this land which You promised their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

And You gave them this land which You swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;

23 T hey came in and took it for their own. But they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your Law. They did not do anything that You told them to do. So You have made all this trouble come upon them.

And they entered and took possession of it, but they obeyed not Your voice, nor walked 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.

24 S ee, a battle-wall has been built up against the city to take it. And the city is given to the Babylonians who fight against it, because of the sword, hunger, and disease. What You have said would happen has now happened, as You see.

See the siege mounds; they have come up to the city to take it. And the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because by the sword and the famine and the pestilence. What You have spoken has come to pass, and behold, You see it.

25 O Lord God, You have said to me, “Buy the field with money, and call in people to see you buy it,” even though the city will be given over to the Babylonians.”’”

Yet, O Lord God, You said to me, Buy the field with money and get witnesses, even though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

26 T hen the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying,

27 “ I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me?

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for Me?

28 S o this is what the Lord says: ‘See, I am giving this city to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.

Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

29 T he Babylonians who are fighting against this city will come into it and set this city on fire and burn it. And the houses will burn where people have given special perfume to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink gifts to other gods to make Me angry.

And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come in and set this city on fire and burn it, along with the houses on whose roofs incense has been offered to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods to provoke Me to anger.

30 F or the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only what is sinful in My eyes since they were young. The sons of Israel have been only making Me angry by the work of their hands,” says the Lord.

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked Me to anger with the work of their hands, says the Lord.

31 ‘ This city has made Me very angry since the day they built it until now. So I will put it away from before My face

For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they building it even to this day that I must remove it from before My face—

32 b ecause of all the sin of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah, which they have done to make Me angry. They have sinned together with their kings, their leaders, their religious leaders, their men who speak in My name, the men of Judah, and the people of Jerusalem.

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.

33 T hey have turned their back to Me, and not their face. I taught them again and again, but they would not listen and learn.

And they have turned their backs to Me and not their faces; though I taught them persistently, yet they would not listen and receive instruction.

34 T hey put their things that I hate in the house which is called by My name, and made it unclean.

But they set their abominations in the house which is called by My Name to defile it.

35 T hey built the high places of the false god Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, to give their sons and daughters as burnt gifts to Molech. I did not tell them to do this hated thing that made Judah sin. It did not even come into My mind. A Promise for the Future

And they built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech—which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind or heart that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

36 “ So now this is what the Lord God of Israel says about this city of which you say, ‘It is given over to the king of Babylon because of the sword, hunger, and disease.’

And now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and by famine and by pestilence:

37 I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My strong anger. And I will bring them back to this place to live where they will be safe.

Behold, I will gather them out of all countries to which I drove them in My anger and in My wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them again to this place, and I will make them dwell safely.

38 T hey will be My people, and I will be their God.

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

39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

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

40 I will make an agreement with them that I will not turn away from them. I will do good to them, an agreement that will last forever. And I will help them fear Me in their hearts so they will not turn away from Me.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will not turn away from following them to do them good, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me.

41 I will have joy in doing good to them. And I will be faithful to plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly and in truth with My whole heart and with My whole being.

42 F or the Lord says, ‘Just as I brought all this trouble on these people, so I am going to bring all the good on them that I have promised them.

For thus says the Lord: As I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

43 F ields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is a waste, without man or animal. It is given over to the Babylonians.”

And fields shall be bought in this land of which you say, It is desolate, without man or beast; it is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

44 M en will buy fields for money, write their names and put their marks on agreements while people watch them do this in the land of Benjamin and in the places around Jerusalem. Also they will do this in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the Negev. For I will bring them back to their own land,’ says the Lord.”

Men shall buy fields for money and shall sign deeds, seal them, and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin, 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 (the Negeb), for I will cause them to be released from their exile, says the Lord.