Jeremiah 32

1The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

1Jeremiah received a message from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah’s reign over Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar’s reign.

2Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house.

2At that time, the Babylonian army was surrounding Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was a prisoner in the courtyard of the guard at the king’s palace.

3For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

3King Zedekiah had put him there because Jeremiah kept prophesying, 'The LORD says: I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.'

4and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

4Jeremiah also said, 'King Zedekiah will not escape from the Babylonians; he will definitely be captured and handed over to the king of Babylon. He will have to speak to him face to face and look him in the eye.'

5and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper?

5'He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will stay there until I deal with him,' says the LORD. 'Even if you fight the Babylonians, you will not succeed.'

6And Jeremiah said, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

6Jeremiah said, 'The LORD gave me this message:

7Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.

7Your cousin Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you and say, "Buy my field in Anathoth, because you are the closest relative and have the legal right to buy it." '

8So Hanamel 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.

8Just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, 'Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. You have the right to inherit it and the duty to buy it back.' Then I knew this was truly a message from the LORD.

9And I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel mine uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.

9So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seventeen pieces of silver to pay him.

10And I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.

10I signed the deed, sealed it, had witnesses sign it, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

11So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, according to the law and custom, and that which was open:

11Then I took the purchase deeds—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the unsealed copy.

12and I delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the guard.

12I gave these deeds to Baruch son of Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah. I did this in front of Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the Judeans sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

13In their presence, I gave Baruch these instructions:

14Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: 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 continue many days.

14'The LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Take these deeds—both the sealed and the unsealed copies—and put them in a clay jar so they will last for a long time.'

15For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.

15For the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'The time will come when people will again buy houses, fields, and vineyards in this land.'

16Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto Jehovah, saying,

16After I had given the purchase deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:

17Ah Lord Jehovah! behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for thee,

17'O Sovereing LORD! You made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your strong arm. Nothing is too hard for you!

18who showest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts is his name;

18You show faithful love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of parents' sins onto their children. You are the great and powerful God; your name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

19great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;

19You are wise in your plans and powerful in your actions. You see everything people do, and you reward or punish them based on how they live and what they deserve.

20who didst set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, both in Israel and among other men; and madest thee a name, as at this day;

20You performed signs and wonders in Egypt, and you have continued them to this day in Israel and throughout the world. This has made your name famous, as it is today.

21and didst bring forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror;

21You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and a powerful arm, and with great terror.

22and gavest them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;

22You gave them this land, which you promised to their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey.

23and they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them.

23They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your laws. They did nothing you commanded them to do, so you brought all this disaster upon them.

24Behold, the mounds, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.

24Look! The enemy has built ramps up to the walls to capture the city. Because of war, hunger, and disease, the city is being handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. Everything you said would happen has come to pass, just as you see.

25And thou hast said unto me, O Lord Jehovah, Buy thee the field for money, and call witnesses; whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

25And yet, O Sovereign LORD, you told me to buy the field with silver in front of witnesses, even though the city is already being handed over to the Babylonians!'

26Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,

26Then the LORD spoke to Jeremiah:

27Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?

27'I am the LORD, the God of all humanity. Is anything too hard for me?

28Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:

28Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the Babylonians and to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he will capture it.

29and the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.

29The Babylonians who are attacking this city will break in and set it on fire. They will burn it down, along with the houses where people made me angry by offering incense to Baal on the rooftops and pouring out drink offerings to other gods.

30For 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, saith Jehovah.

30The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight since they were young. The people of Israel have done nothing but make me angry by the way they live,' says the LORD.

31For this city hath been to me a provocation of mine anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,

31'From the day it was built until now, this city has done nothing but stir up my anger and fury. So now I must remove it from my sight.

32because 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.

32The people of Israel and Judah—their kings, officials, priests, and prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem—have made me angry by all the evil they have done.

33And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.

33They turned their backs to me and wouldn't look at me. Though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or learn.

34But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.

34They set up their disgusting idols in the temple that bears my name, making it unclean.

35And 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 unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

35They built shrines for Baal in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters in the fire to Molech. I never commanded this, and it never even entered my mind that they would do such a disgusting thing and lead Judah into sin.'

36And now therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence:

36Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about this city, which you say will be handed over to the king of Babylon by war, hunger, and disease:

37Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.

37'I will surely gather my people from all the lands where I scattered them in my fierce anger and great rage. I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.

38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

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

39and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

39I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever. This will be for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

40and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.

40I will make a permanent covenant with them: I will never stop doing good things for them. I will put a desire to worship me in their hearts so that they will never turn away from me.

41Yea, 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.

41I will find joy in doing good for them, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.'

42For 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 promised them.

42For this is what the LORD says: 'Just as I have brought all this massive disaster on these people, I will also bring them all the good things I have promised.

43And 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.

43Fields will again be bought in this land, even though you now say, "It is a wasteland, without people or animals, handed over to the Babylonians."

44Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about 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 cause their captivity to return, saith Jehovah.

44People will buy fields with silver, sign and seal deeds, and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, and in the cities of the hill country, the foothills, and the Negev. For I will restore their fortunes,' says the LORD.