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Jeremiah Buys a Field
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 Nebuchadnezzar.
Jerusalem was then under siege from the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace.
For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house.
King Zedekiah had put him there, asking why he kept giving this prophecy: “This is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it.
For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and I will deal with him there,’ says the LORD. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed.’”
then he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him,” says the Lord; “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”
At that time the LORD sent me a message. He said,
And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’”
‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’
Then, just as the LORD had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the LORD.
Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money — seventeen shekels of silver.
I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him.
Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase,
So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open;
and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the courtyard of the guardhouse.
and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.
“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for 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 deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.”
For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”
For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” ’
Jeremiah’s Prayer
Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the LORD:
Jeremiah Prays for Understanding
“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying:
“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying:
“O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!
You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them — the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve.
You performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt — things still remembered to this day! And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous to this day.
You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day.
“You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror.
You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before — a land flowing with milk and honey.
You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them — “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon them.
And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.
“See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said.
‘Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!
And yet, O Sovereign LORD, you have told me to buy the field — paying good money for it before these witnesses — even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians.”
And You have said to me, O Lord God, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”! — yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”
A Prediction of Jerusalem’s Fall
Then this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
God’s Assurance of the People’s Return
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it.
Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods.
And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city 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;
Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the LORD.
because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the Lord.
“From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.
‘For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from before My face
“The sins of Israel and Judah — the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets — have stirred up my anger.
because of all the evil of the children of Israel and 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.
My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey.
And they have turned to Me the back, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.
They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it.
They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!
And 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 the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’
A Promise of Restoration
“Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
“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 the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:
I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety.
Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.
They will be my people, and I will be their God.
They shall be My people, and I will be their God;
And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants.
then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.
I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.
“This is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them.
“For thus says the Lord: ‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.
Fields will again be bought and sold in this land about which you now say, ‘It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’
And fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”
Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold — deeds signed and sealed and witnessed — in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judahe and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the [g]lowland, and in the cities of the [h]South; for I will cause their captives to return,’ says the Lord.”