Jeremiah 32

1 After Zedekiah had been ruling Judah for almost ten years, Yahweh gave me another message, during the time that Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling [Babylonia] for almost 18 years.

The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah: that year was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

2 His army was surrounding Jerusalem, and I was in a prison area in the courtyard where the guards of the king’s palace stayed.

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

3 King Zedekiah had put me there. I continued to prophesy there [about what would happen]. I continued to say, “Yahweh says that he is about to allow [the army of] the king of Babylon to capture this city [DOU].

For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why dost thou prophesy and say, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

4 And the soldiers of Babylonia will capture King Zedekiah and (take him to/put him in the hands of) the king of Babylon.

and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans; for he shall certainly be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

5 Then his [soldiers] will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will remain there until I arrange for him to be punished. And if he tries to fight against the soldiers from Babylonia, he will not succeed.”

and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper?

6 [At that time], Yahweh gave me another message. He said,

And Jeremiah said, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

7 “[Your cousin] Hanamel, the son of Shallum [your uncle], will come to you. He will say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, [your hometown]. [Because you are my closest relative], [it is written in our laws that] you have the right to buy it [before I ask if anyone else wants to buy it].’”

Behold, Hanameel, the son of Shallum thine uncle, shall come unto thee, saying, Buy for thyself my field which is in Anathoth; for thine is the right of redemption, to buy [it].

8 And just as Yahweh had predicted, my cousin Hanamel came to see me in the courtyard of the palace. He said, “[Please] buy my field at Anathoth in the area [where the descendants of] Benjamin live. It is written in our laws that you have the right to buy it [before I ask if anyone else wants to buy it.]” When he said that, I knew that the message that I had received was [truly] from Yahweh.

And Hanameel, mine uncle's son, came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of Jehovah, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine: buy [it] for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of Jehovah.

9 [So], I bought the field at Anathoth. I paid Hanamel 17 pieces of silver for it.

And I bought of Hanameel, mine uncle's son, the field which is in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, seventeen shekels of silver.

10 I signed the paper/papyrus on which it was written that I was buying it, while others were watching/witnessing it. Then I weighed the silver [and gave it to him].

And I subscribed the writing, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances.

11 Then I took two copies of the paper/papyrus. One was sealed and the other was not sealed. On both of them was written the price and conditions of the purchase. I took both copies

And I took the writing of the purchase, that which was sealed [according to] the law and the statutes, and that which was open;

12 and I gave them to Baruch, who was the son of Neraiah and the grandson of Mahseiah. I did this while my cousin Hanamel, the [other] witnesses who had signed the paper/papyrus, and other men of Judah who were there in the courtyard, were watching.

and I gave the writing of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Nerijah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's [son], and in the presence of the witnesses that had subscribed the writing of purchase, before all the Jews that were sitting in the court of the guard.

13 [Then], while they were [all] listening, I said to Baruch,

And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying,

14 “This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says: ‘Take both copies of this paper/papyrus and put them in a clay jar, to preserve them for a long time.

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these writings, this writing of the purchase, both that which is sealed and this writing which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may remain many days.

15 [Do that] because this is what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [you] Israelis [worship], say: “[Some day people will again own property] in this land, and they will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”

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

16 After I had given the papers/papyri to Baruch, I prayed to Yahweh, saying this:

And after I had given the writing of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Nerijah, I prayed unto Jehovah saying,

17 “Yahweh, [you are my] Lord! You made the sky and the earth by your very great power. [MTY, DOU] Nothing is too difficult for you [to do].

Alas, Lord Jehovah! Behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and stretched-out arm; there is nothing too hard for thee:

18 You show thousands of people that you faithfully love them, but you punish people for the sins that their parents have committed. [You are the] great and powerful God, the Commander of the armies of angels.

who shewest mercy unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them, thou, the great, the mighty God, — Jehovah of hosts is his name;

19 You make wise plans and you do mighty deeds. You see how all people behave [DOU], and you do to them what they deserve.

great in counsel and mighty in work, whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the children of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

20 You performed many miracles [DOU] in Egypt, and you continue [to perform miracles here] in Israel and everywhere else in the world. [Because of that], you have (become very famous/caused many people to know that you are very great/powerful).

who hast displayed signs and wonders unto this day, in the land of Egypt and in Israel and among [other] men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day.

21 You brought our Israeli ancestors out of Egypt by performing many great miracles [DOU], using your very great power [DOU], causing [our enemies to be] terrified.

And thou broughtest forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt by signs, and by wonders, and by a powerful hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terror;

22 You gave to us Israeli people this land that you solemnly promised to give to our ancestors, a land that is very fertile [IDM].

and didst give them this land, which thou hadst sworn unto their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

23 Our ancestors came here and conquered this land and started to live in it, but they refused to obey you or to do what you commanded them to do. Because of that, you have caused us to experience all these disasters.

And they came in and possessed it: but they hearkened not unto thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do; so that thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them.

24 And now, [the army] of Babylonia has built ramps up against our city [walls] in order to attack our city. Because of [our enemies’] swords and because of famines and diseases, they will be able to conquer it [easily]. The things that you said would happen have [now] happened.

Behold the mounds, they are come unto the city for taking it; and the city is given over into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, by the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and behold, thou seest [it].

25 [And it is evident that] the Babylonian army will soon conquer this city. So now, Yahweh my Lord, [I do not understand] why you told me to buy this field with my silver, while others were watching. [It seems that I have just been wasting my money by doing that]!”

And thou, Lord Jehovah, thou hast said unto me, Buy for thyself the field for money, and take witnesses; — and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

26 [Then] Yahweh gave me this message:

And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, saying,

27 “I am Yahweh, the God [who rules] all the people [in the world]. There is absolutely nothing [RHQ] that is too difficult for me [to do].

Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?

28 So, this is what I say: [It is true that] I will enable the Babylonian army and King Nebuchadnezzar to capture this city.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.

29 The soldiers of Babylonia who are [now outside the walls] around the city will enter and burn this city. They will burn down [all] the houses where people caused me to become angry by burning incense on [the tops of] their roofs to [honor] Baal and by pouring out offerings of wine to other gods.

And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come in and set fire to this city, and shall burn it, and the houses upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.

30 The people of Israel and Judah have continually done only evil things from the time that they became a nation. They have caused me to become very angry by all their evil deeds.

For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have been doing only evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah.

31 From the time that this city was built until now, the people of this city have done [only] things that caused me to be very angry [DOU]. So [now] I will destroy it.

For this city hath been to me [a provocation] of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,

32 The people of Israel and Judah, [including] their kings, their officials, the priests, the [false] prophets, and all the other people in Jerusalem have committed many sins that have caused me to become angry.

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, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

33 My people have turned away from me and have refused to return to me. Even though I taught them things many times, they would not pay attention to what I taught them, and they would not obey me.

And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face; and though I taught them, rising early and teaching, they hearkened not to receive instruction.

34 They have set up their detestable idols [even] in my own [MTY] temple and (defiled it/caused it to become a place that is unacceptable for people to worship me).

And they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it;

35 They have built shrines to [honor] Baal in Ben-Hinnom Valley [outside Jerusalem], and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to [their god] Molech. I never commanded them to do such horrible things. I never even thought that anyone might do such a terrible thing. And by doing it they have caused [all the people of] Judah to [be guilty of having] sinned.”

and they have built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause to pass through [the fire] their sons and their daughters unto Molech: which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

36 “But now [I will say something more] about this city. You [people of Jerusalem] have been saying, ‘[The army of] the King of Babylon will conquer it, either by their swords or because of famines or diseases.’ But this is what [I], Yahweh, the God whom you Israeli people [say you belong to], say:

And now therefore Jehovah, the God of Israel, saith thus concerning this city, whereof ye say, It hath been given over into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence:

37 ‘I will certainly bring my people back here again, from all the countries to which I will force them to go because I am extremely angry [DOU] with them. I will bring them back to this city and allow them to live here safely.

Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries whither I have driven them, in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.

38 They will be my people, and I will be their God.

And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

39 I will cause them to have one way of thinking [IDM] and behaving, in order that they may revere me, for their good and for the good of their descendants.

And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me all [their] days, for the good of them, and of their children after them.

40 I will make an agreement with them that will last forever: I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will encourage them to revere me and never turn away from me.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not draw back from them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their heart, that they may not turn aside from me.

41 I will be happy to do good things for them, and I will surely enable them to return to this land and remain here [MET]; I will do that with all my inner being and all my strength.’

And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

42 And this is [also] what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘I have caused them to experience all these disasters. Similarly, [some day] I will do for them all the good things that I have promised.

For thus saith Jehovah: Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have spoken concerning them.

43 [By buying land you, Jeremiah, have predicted that some day] people will buy and sell fields in this land about which you [people of Jerusalem] now say, “The Babylonian soldiers have destroyed it. It is [now] desolate. [It is a land where] there are no longer any people or animals.”

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

44 [But some day] people will [again] buy [and sell] fields here. People will sign documents [about buying those fields], and [other people] will witness them doing that. [That will happen] in the land where [the descendants of] Benjamin live and [here] in the villages near Jerusalem, in [other] towns in Judah, in the hilly areas and in the foothills [to the west], and in the southern desert area, [too. Some day] I will cause them to prosper again. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.’”

[Men] shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the writings, and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the environs of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the south: for I will turn their captivity, saith Jehovah.