Jeremiah 32:1-11

1 The word that came to Yirmeyahu from the LORD in the tenth year of Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah, which was the eighteenth year of Nevukhadretztzar.

2 Now at that time the king of Bavel's army was besieging Yerushalayim; and Yirmeyahu the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Yehudah's house.

3 For Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah had shut him up, saying, Why do you prophesy, and say, Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Bavel, and he shall take it;

4 and Tzidkiyahu king of Yehudah shall not escape out of the hand of the Kasdim, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Bavel, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall see his eyes;

5 and he shall bring Tzidkiyahu to Bavel, and there shall he be until I visit him, says the LORD: though you fight with the Kasdim, you shall not prosper?

6 Yirmeyahu said, The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

7 Behold, Hanam'el the son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you, saying, Buy you my field that is in `Anatot; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.

8 So Hanam'el my uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, Please buy my field that is in `Anatot, which is in the land of Binyamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

9 I bought the field that was in `Anatot of Hanam'el my uncle's son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.

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

11 So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open;

Jeremiah 32:1-11 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.