Jeremiah 32
Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ain the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, bwhich was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet awas shut up in bthe court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: aBehold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 aZedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, bbut shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 And ahe shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. bThough you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”
6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, a‘Buy my field that is at bAnathoth, cfor the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ 8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in athe court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at bAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
9 “And I bought the field at aAnathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and bweighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 aI signed the deed, bsealed it, cgot witnesses, and dweighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. 12 And I gave the deed of purchase to aBaruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of bthe witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in cthe court of the guard. 13 I charged aBaruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and afields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’
Jeremiah Prays for Understanding
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to aBaruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord God! It is ayou who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by byour outstretched arm! cNothing is too hard for you. 18 aYou show steadfast love to thousands, abut you repay the guilt of fathers bto their children after them, O great and cmighty God, whose name is the dLord of hosts, 19 agreat in counsel and bmighty in deed, cwhose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, drewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown asigns and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, band have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 aYou brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and boutstretched arm, aand with great terror. 22 And you gave them this land, awhich you swore to their fathers to give them, aa land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. aBut they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. 24 Behold, athe siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and bbecause of sword and famine and pestilence cthe city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. 25 Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, a“Buy the field for money band get witnesses”—though cthe city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”
26 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, athe God of all flesh. bIs anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: aBehold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city ashall come and set this city on fire and burn it, bwith the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal band drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, cto provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight afrom their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but bprovoke me to anger cby the work of their hands, declares the Lord. 31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, aso that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—atheir kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 aThey have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them bpersistently, they have not listened cto receive instruction. 34 They set up atheir abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal ain the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, bto offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, cthough I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do dthis abomination, eto cause Judah to sin.
They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God
36 “Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, a‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: 37 aBehold, I will gather them from all the countries bto which I drove them in cmy anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, dand I will make them dwell in safety. 38 aAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 aI will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, bfor their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 aI will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. bAnd I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 aI will rejoice in doing them good, band I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
42 “For thus says the Lord: aJust as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. 43 aFields shall be bought in this land bof which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; cit is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and adeeds shall be signed and asealed and awitnessed, bin the land of Benjamin, bin the places about Jerusalem, band in the cities of Judah, bin the cities of the hill country, bin the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for cI will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.