Yirmeyah 32

1 2 The Davar that came to Yirmeyah from Hashem in the tenth year of Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah, which was the eighteenth year of Nevuchadretzar.

2 For then the army of Melech Bavel besieged Yerushalayim; and Yirmeyah HaNavi was imprisoned in the Khatzer (courtyard) of the Guard, which was in Bais Melech Yehudah.

3 For Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah had imprisoned him, saying, Why dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith Hashem, Hineni, I will give this city into the yad Melech Bavel, and he shall capture it;

4 And Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah shall not escape out of the yad of the Kasdim (Chaldeans), but shall surely be delivered into the yad Melech Bavel, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eynayim shall behold his eynayim;

5 And he shall lead Tzidkiyah to Bavel, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Hashem; though ye fight against the Kasdim (Chaldeans), ye shall not succeed.

6 And Yirmeyah said, The Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

7 Hinei, Chanam’el Ben Shallum thine dod (uncle) shall come unto thee saying, Buy thee my sadeh that is in Anatot: for the mishpat haGeulah (right of Redemption) is thine to buy it.

8 So Chanam’el ben dodi came to me in the Khatzer (court) of the Guard according to the Devar Hashem, and said unto me, Buy my sadeh, now, that is in Anatot, which is in Eretz Binyamin; for the mishpat hayerushah (right of possession) is thine, and the geulah (redemption) is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the Devar Hashem.

9 And I bought the sadeh of Chanam’el ben dodi, that was in Anatot, and weighed him out the kesef, even seventeen shekels of kesef.

10 And I signed the sefer (deed), and sealed it, and took edim (witnesses), and weighed him out the kesef on the scales.

11 So I took the sefer hamikneh (deed of purchase), both that which was sealed according to the mitzvah and chukkim, and that which was the unsealed copy:

12 And I gave the sefer hamikneh unto Baruch Ben Neriyah Ben Ma’aseiyah, in the sight of Chanam’el my cousin, and in the presence of the edim that signed the sefer hamikneh, before all the Yehudim that sat in the khatzer (courtyard) of the prison.

13 And I charged Baruch before their eyes, saying,

14 Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os Elohei Yisroel: Take these sefarim, this sefer hamikneh, both which is sealed, and this sefer which is unsealed; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last yamim rabbim.

15 For thus saith Hashem Tzva’os Elohei Yisroel: Batim (houses) and sadot (fields) and kramim (vineyards) shall be bought again in this land.

16 Now when I had delivered the sefer hamikneh unto Baruch Ben Neriyah, I davened unto Hashem, saying,

17 Ah Adonoi Hashem! Hinei, Thou hast made the Shomayim and the Eretz by Thy koach hagadol and Thy outstretched zero’a, and there is nothing too difficult for Thee;

18 Thou showest chesed unto alafim, and recompensest avon avot into the kheyk of their banim after them; HaEl HaGadol HaGibbor Hashem Tzva’os Shmo,

19 Gadol in etzah (counsel), and mighty in deed; for Thine eynayim are open upon all the drakhim of Bnei Adam; to give everyone according to his drakhim, and according to the fruit of his doings;

20 Which hast set otot and mofetim in Eretz Mitzrayim, even unto this day, and in Yisroel, and among adam (mankind); and hast made Thee a Shem, as at this day;

21 And hast brought forth Thy people Yisroel out of Eretz Mitzrayim with otot, and with mofetim, and with a yad chazakah, and with an outstretched zero’a, and with great terror;

22 And hast given them this land, which Thou didst swear to their avot to give them, eretz zavat cholov udevash;

23 And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not Thy voice, neither walked in Thy torah; they have done nothing of all that Thou commandedst them to do; therefore Thou hast caused all this ra’ah to come upon them.

24 Hinei, the siege ramps, they are come unto the Ir to take it; and the Ir is given into the yad of the Kasdim (Chaldeans), that fight against it, because of the cherev, and of the ra’av, and of the dever; and what Thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, Thou seest it.

25 And Thou hast said unto me, O Adonoi Hashem, Buy thee the sadeh for kesef, and take edim (witnesses); for the Ir is given into the yad of the Kasdim (Chaldeans).

26 Then came the Devar Hashem unto Yirmeyah, saying,

27 Hinei, I am Hashem Elohei Kol Basar; is there any thing too difficult for Me?

28 Therefore thus saith Hashem: Hineni, I will give this city into the yad of the Kasdim (Chaldeans), and into the yad of Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel, and he shall capture it;

29 And the Kasdim (Chaldeans), that fight against this city, shall come and set eish to this city, and burn it with the batim (houses), upon whose gagot (roofs) they have offered ketoret unto Ba’al, and poured out nesakhim (drink offerings) unto elohim acherim, to provoke Me to anger.

30 For the Bnei Yisroel and the Bnei Yehudah have only done rah (evil) before Me from their youth; for the Bnei Yisroel have only provoked Me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Hashem.

31 For this city hath been to Me as 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 Because of all the ra’ah of the Bnei Yisroel and of the Bnei Yehudah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger, they, their melachim, their sarim, their kohanim, and their nevi’im, and the Ish Yehudah, and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.

33 And they have turned unto Me the oref (back), and not the panim; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not paid heed to receive musar.

34 But they set their shikkutzim (abominations) in the Beis [Hamikdash], which is called by Shmi, to make it tameh (unclean).

35 And they built the high places of Ba’al, which are in the Gey Ben Hinnom, to cause their banim and their banot to pass through the eish unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My lev, that they should do this toe’vah (abomination) to cause Yehudah to sin.

36 And now therefore thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the yad Melech Bavel by the cherev, and by the ra’av and by the dever;

37 Hineni, I will gather them out of all countries, where I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them back unto this makom, and I will cause them to dwell securely;

38 And they shall be My people, and I will be their Elohim;

39 And I will give them lev echad (one heart), and derech echad (one way), that they may fear Me kol hayamim, for the tov of them, and of their banim after them;

40 And I will make a Brit Olam with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me.

41 Indeed, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land b’emes with all My lev and with all My nefesh.

42 For thus saith Hashem; Just as I have brought all this ra’ah hagedolah upon this people, so will I bring upon them kol hatovah that I have promised them.

43 And sadeh shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without adam or behemah; it is given into the yad of the Kasdim (Chaldeans).

44 Sadot (fields) will be bought for kesef, and the sefer (deed) will be signed and sealed and witnessed in Eretz Binyamin, and in the places around Yerushalayim, and in the towns of Yehudah, and the towns of the hill country, and in the towns of the Shephelah, and in the towns of the Negev; for I will cause their captivity to return, saith Hashem.

Yirmeyah 32 Commentary

Chapter 32

Jeremiah buys a field. (1-15) The prophet's prayer. (16-25) God declares that he will give up his people, but promises to restore them. (26-44)

Verses 1-15 Jeremiah, being in prison for his prophecy, purchased a piece of ground. This was to signify, that though Jerusalem was besieged, and the whole country likely to be laid waste, yet the time would come, when houses, and fields, and vineyards, should be again possessed. It concerns ministers to make it appear that they believe what they preach to others. And it is good to manage even our worldly affairs in faith; to do common business with reference to the providence and promise of God.

Verses 16-25 Jeremiah adores the Lord and his infinite perfections. When at any time we are perplexed about the methods of Providence, it is good for us to look to first principles. Let us consider that God is the fountain of all being, power, and life; that with him no difficulty is such as cannot be overcome; that he is a God of boundless mercy; that he is a God of strict justice; and that he directs every thing for the best. Jeremiah owns that God was righteous in causing evil to come upon them. Whatever trouble we are in, personal or public, we may comfort ourselves that the Lord sees it, and knows how to remedy it. We must not dispute God's will, but we may seek to know what it means.

Verses 26-44 God's answer discovers the purposes of his wrath against that generation of the Jews, and the purposes of his grace concerning future generations. It is sin, and nothing else, that ruins them. The restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is promised. This people were now at length brought to despair. But God gives hope of mercy which he had in store for them hereafter. Doubtless the promises are sure to all believers. God will own them for his, and he will prove himself theirs. He will give them a heart to fear him. All true Christians shall have a disposition to mutual love. Though they may have different views about lesser things, they shall all be one in the great things of God; in their views of the evil of sin, and the low estate of fallen man, the way of salvation through the Saviour, the nature of true holiness, the vanity of the world, and the importance of eternal things. Whom God loves, he loves to the end. We have no reason to distrust God's faithfulness and constancy, but only our own hearts. He will settle them again in Canaan. These promises shall surely be performed. Jeremiah's purchase was the pledge of many a purchase that should be made after the captivity; and those inheritances are but faint resemblances of the possessions in the heavenly Canaan, which are kept for all who have God's fear in their hearts, and do not depart from him. Let us then bear up under our trials, assured we shall obtain all the good he has promised us.

Chapter Summary

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.