Jeremiah 32; Jeremiah 33; Jeremiah 34

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 At that time, the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was imprisoned in the guard's courtyard in the palace of the king of Judah.

3 Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: "Why are you prophesying, 'This is what the Lord says: Look, I am about to hand this city over to Babylon's king, and he will capture it.

4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the Chaldeans; indeed, he will certainly be handed over to Babylon's king. They will speak face to face and meet eye to eye.

5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon where he will stay until I attend to him'-[this is] the Lord's declaration. 'You will fight the Chaldeans, but you will not succeed'?"

6 Jeremiah replied, "The word of the Lord came to me:

7 'Watch! Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you to say: Buy my field in Anathoth for yourself, for you own the right of redemption to buy it.'

8 "Then my cousin Hanamel [came] to the guard's courtyard as the Lord had said and urged me, 'Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

9 So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out to him the money-17 shekels of silver.

10 I recorded it on a scroll, sealed it, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on a scale.

11 I took the purchase agreement-the sealed copy with its terms and conditions and the open copy-

12 and gave the purchase agreement to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. [I did this] in the sight of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement, and all the Judeans sitting in the guard's courtyard.

13 "I instructed Baruch in their sight,

14 'This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these scrolls-this purchase agreement with the sealed copy and this open copy-and put them in an earthen storage jar so they will last a long time.

15 For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.'

16 "After I had given the purchase agreement to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

17 Ah, Lord God ! You Yourself made the heavens and earth by Your great power and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!

18 You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers' sins on their sons' laps after them, great and mighty God whose name is the Lord of Hosts,

19 the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men in order to give to each person according to his ways and the result of his deeds.

20 You performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and do so to this very day both in Israel and among mankind. You made a name for Yourself, as [is the case] today.

21 You brought Your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.

22 You gave them this land You swore [to give] to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.

23 They entered and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or live according to Your law. They failed to perform all You commanded them to do, and so You have brought all this disaster on them.

24 Look! Siege ramps have come against the city to capture it, and the city, as a result of the sword, famine, and plague, has been handed over to the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You have spoken has happened. Look, You can see it!

25 Yet You, Lord God , have said to me: Buy the field with silver and call in witnesses-even though the city has been handed over to the Chaldeans!"

26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

27 "Look, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?

28 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the Chaldeans, to Babylon's king Nebuchadnezzar, and he will capture it.

29 The Chaldeans who are going to fight against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses where incense has been burned to Baal on their rooftops and where drink offerings have been poured out to other gods to provoke Me to anger.

30 From their youth, the Israelites and Judeans have done nothing but what is evil in My sight! They have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-

31 "for this city has been up against My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. I will therefore remove it from My presence,

32 because of all the evil the Israelites and Judeans have done to provoke Me to anger-they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem.

33 They have turned their backs to Me and not their faces. Though I taught them time and time again, they do not listen and receive discipline.

34 They have placed their detestable things in the house that is called by My name and have defiled it.

35 They have built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Hinnom to make their sons and daughters pass through [the fire] to Molech-something I had not commanded them. I had never entertained the thought that they do this detestable act causing Judah to sin!

36 "Now therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to this city about which you said: It has been handed over to Babylon's king through sword, famine, and plague:

37 I am about to gather them from all the lands where I have banished them in My wrath, rage, and great fury, and I will return them to this place and make them live in safety.

38 They will be My people, and I will be their God.

39 I will give them one heart and one way so that for their good and for [the good of] their descendants after them, they will fear Me always.

40 "I will make with them an everlasting covenant: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put fear of Me in their hearts so they will never again turn away from Me.

41 I will rejoice over them to do what is good to them, and I will plant them faithfully in this land with all My mind and heart.

42 "For this is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on these people, so am I about to bring on them all the good I am promising them.

43 Fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying: It's a desolation without man or beast; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans!

44 Fields will be purchased with silver, the transaction written on a scroll and sealed, and witnesses will be called on in the land of Benjamin, in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, and in Judah's cities-the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, and the cities of the Negev-because I will restore their fortunes." [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.

1 While he was still confined in the guard's courtyard, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time:

2 "The Lord who made the earth, the Lord who forms it to establish it, the Lord is His name, says this:

3 Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and wondrous things you do not know.

4 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the houses of this city and the palaces of Judah's kings, the ones torn down [for defense] against the siege ramps and the sword:

5 The people coming to fight the Chaldeans will fill the houses with the corpses of [their own] men I strike down in My wrath and rage. I have hidden My face from this city because of all their evil.

6 Yet I will certainly bring health and healing to it and will indeed heal them. I will let them experience the abundance of peace and truth.

7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and of Israel and will rebuild them as in former times.

8 I will purify them from all the wrongs they have committed against Me, and I will forgive all the wrongs they have committed against Me, rebelling against Me.

9 This city will bear on My behalf a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I will do for them. They will tremble with awe because of all the good and all the peace I will bring about for them.

10 "This is what the Lord says: In this place which you say is a ruin, without man or beast-that is, in Judah's cities and Jerusalem's streets that are a desolation without man, without inhabitant, and without beast-there will be heard again

11 a sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride, and the voice of those saying, Praise the Lord of Hosts, for the Lord is good; His faithful love endures forever as they bring thank offerings to the temple of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as in former times, says the Lord.

12 "This is what the Lord of Hosts says: In this desolate place-without man or beast-and in all its cities there will once more be a grazing land where shepherds may rest flocks.

13 The flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who counts them in the cities of the hill country, the cities of the Judean foothills, the cities of the Negev, the land of Benjamin-the cities surrounding Jerusalem and Judah's cities, says the Lord.

14 "Look, the days are coming"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"when I will fulfill the good promises that I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

15 In those days and at that time I will cause a Branch of righteousness to sprout up for David, and He will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is what she will be named: The Lord Is Our Righteousness.

17 For this is what the Lord says: David will never fail to have a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel.

18 The Levitical priests will never fail to have a man always before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices."

19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

20 "This is what the Lord says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night so that day and night cease to come at their regular time,

21 then also My covenant with My servant David may be broken so that he will not have a son reigning on his throne, and the Levitical priests will not be My ministers.

22 The hosts of heaven cannot be counted; the sand of the sea cannot be measured. So, too, I will make the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister to Me innumerable."

23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

24 "Have you not noticed what these people have said? They say: The Lord has rejected the two families He had chosen. My people are treated with contempt and no longer regarded as a nation among them.

25 This is what the Lord says: If I do not [keep] My covenant with the day and with the night and fail to establish the fixed order of heaven and earth,

26 then I might also reject the seed of Jacob and of My servant David-not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them."

1 [This is] the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control, and all other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities:

2 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go, speak to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and tell him: This is what the Lord says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.

3 As for you, you will not escape from his hand but are certain to be captured and handed over to him. You will meet the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak face to face;you will go to Babylon.

4 "Yet hear the Lord's word, Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;

5 you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you. Alas, lord! will be the lament for you, for I have spoken [this] word." [This is] the Lord's declaration.

6 So Jeremiah the prophet related all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem

7 while the king of Babylon's army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah's remaining cities-against Lachish and Azekah, for only they were left among Judah's fortified cities.

8 [This is] the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom to them,

9 so each man would free his male and female Hebrew slaves and no one enslave his Judean brother.

10 All the officials and people who entered into covenant to free their male and female slaves-in order not to enslave them any longer-obeyed and freed them.

11 Afterwards, however, they changed their minds and took back their male and female slaves they had freed and forced them to become slaves [again].

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord:

13 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying:

14 At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must send him out free from you. But your ancestors did not obey Me or pay any attention.

15 Today you repented and did what pleased Me, each of you proclaiming freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me at the temple called by My name.

16 But you have changed your minds and profaned My name. Each has taken back his male and female slaves who had been freed [to go] wherever they wanted, and you have [again] subjugated them to be your slaves.

17 "Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed Me by proclaiming freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth's kingdoms.

18 As for those who disobeyed My covenant, not keeping the terms of the covenant they made before Me, I will treat them like the calf they cut in two in order to pass between its pieces.

19 The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf

20 will be handed over to their enemies, to those who want to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

21 I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials over to their enemies, to those who want to take their life, to the king of Babylon's army that is withdrawing.

22 I am about to give the command"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, capture it, and burn it down. I will make Judah's cities a desolation, without inhabitant."