Jeremiah Buys Hanamel's Field

1The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah: that year was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2And 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. 3For 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; 4and 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; 5and 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?

6And Jeremiah said, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 7Behold, 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]. 8And 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.

9And I bought of Hanameel, mine uncle's son, the field which is in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, seventeen shekels of silver. 10And I subscribed the writing, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances. 11And I took the writing of the purchase, that which was sealed [according to] the law and the statutes, and that which was open; 12and 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. 13And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, 14Thus 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. 15For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be purchased in this land.

Jeremiah's Prayer

16And after I had given the writing of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Nerijah, I prayed unto Jehovah saying, 17Alas, 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: 18who 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; 19great 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: 20who 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. 21And 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; 22and didst give them this land, which thou hadst sworn unto their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23And 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. 24Behold 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]. 25And 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.

Jerusalem's Fall Confirmed

26And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, saying, 27Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? 28Therefore 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. 29And 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. 30For 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. 31For 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, 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. 33And 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. 34And they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it; 35and 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.

A Promise of Restoration

36And 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: 37Behold, 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. 38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39And 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. 40And 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. 41And 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. 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 spoken concerning them. 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. 44[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.