Jeremiah 32:1-19

Jeremiah Buys a Field

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.

2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.

3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians^[a] but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes.

5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’ ”

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me:

7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’

8 “Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’ “I knew that this was the word of the LORD;

9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels^[b] of silver.

10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy—

12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions:

14 ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time.

15 For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:

17 “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD Almighty,

19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.

Jeremiah 32:1-19 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.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Kings 25:1
• 2. Jeremiah 25:1; Jeremiah 39:1
• 3. S 2 Kings 25:1
• 4. S Psalms 88:8
• 5. S Nehemiah 3:25; Jeremiah 37:21
• 6. Jeremiah 26:8-9
• 7. ver 28; Jeremiah 21:4; Jeremiah 34:2-3
• 8. Jeremiah 34:21; Jeremiah 44:30
• 9. S Jeremiah 21:7; Jeremiah 38:18,23; Jeremiah 39:5-7; Jeremiah 52:9
• 10. ver 24
• 11. Jeremiah 39:7; Ezekiel 12:13
• 12. S 2 Kings 25:7
• 13. Jeremiah 21:4; Lamentations 1:14
• 14. S Joshua 21:18
• 15. Leviticus 25:24-25; S Ruth 4:3-4; Matthew 27:10*
• 16. ver 25
• 17. Jeremiah 37:12
• 18. S Genesis 23:16
• 19. Genesis 23:20
• 20. S Ruth 4:9; S Isaiah 8:2
• 21. ver 16; Jeremiah 36:4; Jeremiah 43:3,6; Jeremiah 45:1
• 22. Jeremiah 51:59
• 23. S Isaiah 8:16
• 24. ver 43-44; Isaiah 44:26; Jeremiah 30:18; Ezekiel 28:26; Amos 9:14-15
• 25. S ver 12
• 26. Jeremiah 1:6
• 27. S Genesis 1:1; S Jeremiah 10:16
• 28. S Deuteronomy 9:29; 2 Kings 19:15; Psalms 102:25
• 29. S 2 Kings 3:18; Jeremiah 51:15; S Matthew 19:26
• 30. S Deuteronomy 5:10
• 31. S Psalms 79:12
• 32. S Exodus 20:5; S Psalms 109:14
• 33. Jeremiah 10:6
• 34. S Jeremiah 10:16
• 35. S Job 12:13; Daniel 2:20; Isaiah 28:29
• 36. S Job 14:16; S Proverbs 5:21; Jeremiah 16:17
• 37. S Job 34:11; Jeremiah 17:10; S Matthew 16:27

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "Chaldeans" ; also in verses 5, 24, 25, 28, 29 and 43
• [b]. That is, about 7 ounces or about 200 grams