Chapter 32
1 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 .
2 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 .
3 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 ;
4 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 ;
5 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 "’?"
6 Jeremiah said , " The LORD ’s word came to me , saying ,
7 ‘ 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 ."’"
8 " 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 .
9 I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle ’s son , and weighed him the money , even seventeen shekels of silver .
10 I signed the deed , sealed it , called witnesses , and weighed the money in the balances to him.
11 So I took the deed of the purchase , both that which was sealed , containing the terms and conditions , and that which was open ;
12 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 .
13 " I commanded Baruch before them , saying,
14 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 .’
15 For the LORD of Armies , the God of Israel says : ‘ Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land .’
16 Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah , I prayed to the LORD , saying,
17 "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 .
18 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 :
19 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 ;
20 who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt , even to this day , both in Israel and amongst other men ; and made yourself a name , as it is today ;
21 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 ;
22 and gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them , a land flowing with milk and honey .
23 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 .
24 " 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 .
25 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 ."
26 Then the LORD ’s word came to Jeremiah , saying ,
27 " Behold , I am the LORD , the God of all flesh . Is there anything too hard for me ?
28 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 .
29 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 .
30 " 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 .
31 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 ,
32 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 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 .
34 But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name , to defile it .
35 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 ."
36 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 :"
37 " 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.
38 Then 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 forever , for their good and the good of their children after them .
40 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 .
41 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 ."
42 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 .
43 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 .’
44 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 .