Jeremiah 32:1-8

1 The word that was made of the Lord to Jeremy (The word of the Lord that was made to Jeremiah), in the tenth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah; that is the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

2 Then the host of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem; and Jeremy, the prophet, was closed in the porch of the prison (and the prophet Jeremiah was enclosed in the courtyard of the prison), that was in the house of the king of Judah.

3 For why Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had (en)closed him, and said, Why prophesiest thou, saying, The Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall give this city in[to] the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

4 and Zedekiah, king of Judah, shall not escape from the hand of Chaldees, but he shall be betaken into the hand of the king of Babylon (shall not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon); and his mouth shall speak with the mouth of him, and his eyes shall see the eyes of him;

5 and he shall lead Zedekiah into Babylon, and he shall be there, till I visit him, saith the Lord; forsooth if ye fight against [the] Chaldees, ye shall have nothing in prosperity? (and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and he shall be there, until I visit him/until I deal with him, saith the Lord; and even if ye fight against the Chaldeans, ye shall not succeed.)

6 And Jeremy said, (Because) The word of the Lord was made to me, and said,

7 Lo! Hanameel, the son of Shallum, the son of thy father's brother, shall come to thee, and say, Buy thou to thee my field, which is in Anathoth; for it befalleth to thee by nigh kindred, that thou buy it. (Lo! Hanameel, the son of Shallum, the son of thy uncle, shall come to thee, and say, Buy thou for thyself my field, which is in Anathoth; for it befalleth to thee by the right of next of kin, that thou may buy it.)

8 And Hanameel, the son of my father's brother, came to me, by the word of the Lord, to the porch of the prison, and said to me, Wield thou my field, which is in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin; for why the heritage befalleth to thee, and thou art the next of blood, that thou wield it. Forsooth I understood, that it was the word of the Lord. (And Hanameel, the son of my uncle, indeed did come to me, after the word of the Lord, to the courtyard of the prison, and said to me, Buy thou my field, which is in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin; for the inheritance befalleth to thee, and thou art the next of blood, or the next of kin, and so thou may buy it. And so I understood, that it was the word of the Lord.)

Jeremiah 32:1-8 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.