Jeremiah 32:8

8 "And sure enough, just as God had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me while I was in jail and said, 'Buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, for you have the legal right to keep it in the family. Buy it. Take it over.' "That did it. I knew it was God's Message.

Jeremiah 32:8 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 32:8

So Hanameel mine uncle's son came unto me
Freely and voluntarily, of his own accord; though it was determined he should, as it was predicted he would; for God's decrees do not infringe the liberty of the will: this man came from Anathoth, very probably, to Jerusalem, to the place where the prophet was: in the court of the prison, according to the word of the Lord;
which had been made known before to Jeremiah: and said unto me, buy my field, I pray thee, that [is] in Anathoth,
which [is] in the country of Benjamin;
it belonged to that tribe: for the right of inheritance [is] thine;
the reversion of this field; it would come to him after the death of his cousin, as being next heir: and the redemption [is] thine; buy [it] for thyself;
since, if it was sold to another, he, according to law, was obliged to redeem it; and therefore it was much better to buy it at once for himself: then I knew that this [was] the word of the Lord;
that it was the word of the Lord which came to him before, and that it was the will of the Lord that he should make this purchase; since there was such an exact agreement between the prophecy and the event.

Jeremiah 32:8 In-Context

6 Jeremiah said, "God's Message came to me like this:
7 Prepare yourself! Hanamel, your uncle Shallum's son, is on his way to see you. He is going to say, 'Buy my field in Anathoth. You have the legal right to buy it.'
8 "And sure enough, just as God had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me while I was in jail and said, 'Buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, for you have the legal right to keep it in the family. Buy it. Take it over.' "That did it. I knew it was God's Message.
9 "So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I paid him seventeen silver shekels.
10 I followed all the proper procedures: In the presence of witnesses I wrote out the bill of sale, sealed it, and weighed out the money on the scales.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.