Jeremiah 32:6-15

6 And Jeremiah said, "The word of Yahweh came to me, {saying},

7 'Look, Hanamel, the son of Shallum, your uncle, [is] going to come to you, {saying}, "Buy for yourself my field that [is] at Anathoth, for {you have} the right of redemption to buy [it]." '

8 Then Hanamel, the son of my uncle, came to me, to the courtyard of the guard {according to} the word of Yahweh, and he said to me, 'Please buy my field that [is] at Anathoth, that [is] in the land of Benjamin, for to you [is] the claim of possession, and to you the redemption; buy [it] for yourself.' Then I knew that this [was] the word of Yahweh.

9 And I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle, that [was] at Anathoth. And I weighed out to him the money, seventeen silver shekels.

10 And I signed on the letter and sealed [it], and I called witnesses as witness, and I weighed out the money on a set of scales.

11 Then I took the deed of the purchase, the sealed [copy containing] the commandments and the rules, together with the [one] that was open.

12 And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, {in the presence of} Hanamel, [the son of] my uncle, and {in the presence of} the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, {in the presence of} the Judeans who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13 And I commanded Baruch {in their presence}, {saying},

14 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase, the sealed one, and this opened deed, and you must put them in an {earthenware jar} so that they may be kept preserved many days."

15 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land." '

Jeremiah 32:6-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 32

This chapter contains an account of Jeremiah's imprisonment, and the cause of it; of his buying a field of his uncle's son, and the design of it; of his prayer to God, and of the answer returned to him. The time of his imprisonment, the place where, and the reasons of it, are observed in Jer 32:1-5; that his uncle's son would come and offer the sale of a field to him was told him by the Lord, which he did accordingly, Jer 32:6,7; of whom he bought the field, paid the money, had the purchase confirmed in a legal way, before witnesses, Jer 32:8-12; and the writings of it he committed to Baruch, to put in an earthen vessel, where they were to continue some time as a pledge of houses, fields, and vineyards, being possessed again after the captivity, Jer 32:13-15; then follows a prayer of his to the Lord, in which he addresses him as the Maker of all things; as the Lord God omnipotent; as a God of great grace and mercy, as well as strict justice; as a God of wisdom, counsel, and might, and an omniscient and righteous Being, Jer 32:16-19; and recounts the wonderful things he had done for the people of Israel, Jer 32:20-22; and observes the ingratitude and disobedience of that people, which were the cause of the present siege of the city, which should surely be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, Jer 32:23-25; to which prayer an answer is returned, Jer 32:26; in which the Lord describes himself as the God of all flesh, and as able to do what he pleases, Jer 32:27; and confirms the delivery of the city of Jerusalem unto the Chaldeans, Jer 32:28,29; and assigns the causes of it, the backslidings, disobedience, and dreadful idolatry of the people, Jer 32:30-35; and, notwithstanding, promises a restoration of them to their own land again, Jer 32:36,37; when an opportunity is taken to insert the covenant of grace, and the special articles and peculiar promises of it, for the comfort of the spiritual Israel of God, whether Jews or Gentiles, Jer 32:38-40; and the chapter is concluded with a fresh assurance of the return of the captivity, and of the punctual performance of the promise of it; when fields should be bought in every part of the land, in like manner as Jeremiah had bought his, Jer 32:41-44.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "to say"
• [b]. Literally "to say"
• [c]. Literally "to you is"
• [d]. Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [e]. Literally "as"
• [f]. Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [g]. Or "scroll"
• [h]. Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
• [i]. Or "scroll"
• [j]. Hebrew "commandment"
• [k]. Literally "before the eyes of"
• [l]. Literally "before the eyes of"
• [m]. Literally "before the eyes of"
• [n]. Hebrew "Judean"
• [o]. Literally "before their eyes"
• [p]. Literally "to say"
• [q]. Or "scrolls"
• [r]. Literally "jar of earthenware"