Jeremiah Buys a Field: Faith and Hope in Captivity
Jeremiah 32:1-44
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah; that year was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the court of the guard that belonged to the house of the king of Judah.3Zedekiah king of Judah had confined him there, 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 will capture it."4Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon; his mouth will speak with the mouth of the king, and his eyes will see the eyes of the king.5He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he will remain until I attend to him, declares the LORD; though you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed.6Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came to me, saying,7Behold, Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you and will say, Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.8Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the LORD and said to me, Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption belongs to you; buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.9So I bought the field from Hanamel my cousin at Anathoth and weighed out the silver to him, seventeen shekels of silver.10I wrote the deed, sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed the silver on the scales.11Then I took the deed of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the open copy.12I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah in the presence of Hanamel my cousin and in the presence of the witnesses who had signed the deed, and in the presence of all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard.13In their presence I gave this command to Baruch.14Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar so that they may last for a long time.15For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.16After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying,17Ah, Lord GOD, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm; nothing is too difficult for you.18You show steadfast love to thousands and repay the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of hosts.19Great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, giving to each according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.20You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and have continued them to this day, both in Israel and among all mankind, and you made a name for yourself that endures to this day.21You 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.22You gave them this land that you had sworn to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.23They came and took possession of it, but they did not obey your voice or walk in your law; they did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you brought all this disaster upon them.24Behold, the siege mounds have reached the city to capture it; because of the sword, famine, and pestilence the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are attacking it. What you spoke has happened, and you see it.25Yet you, O Lord GOD, said to me, "Buy the field for silver and have witnesses attest to it," even though the city is being given into the hand of the Chaldeans.26Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,27Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for me?28Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will capture it.29The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come and set this city on fire and burn it, together with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings poured out to other gods, provoking me to anger.30For the people of Israel and the people of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; the people of Israel have only provoked me by the work of their hands, declares the LORD.31This city has aroused my anger and my wrath from the day it was built until this day, so that I will remove it from my presence.32This has happened because of all the evil that the people of Israel and Judah have done to provoke me—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.33They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or accept correction.34They set up their vile images in the house that bears my name and defiled it.35They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to offer their sons and daughters to Molech, something I never commanded, nor did it ever enter my mind that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.36Now therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, It is being given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and pestilence.37Behold, I will gather them from all the lands where I banished them in my anger, wrath, and great fury, and I will bring them back to this place and let them dwell in safety.38They will be my people, and I will be their God.39I 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.40I will make with them an everlasting covenant, never to turn away from doing good to them, and I will put the fear of me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from me.41I will rejoice in doing good to them and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.42For thus says the LORD: Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.43Fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, It is a wasteland, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.44Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be written, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, of the hill country, of the western foothills, and of the Negev, for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.