Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege
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The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD 1in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, 2which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
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At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet 3was shut up in 4the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah.
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For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, "Why do you prophesy and say, 'Thus says the LORD: 5Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it;
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6Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, 7but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.
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And 8he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the LORD. 9Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed'?"
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Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me:
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Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, 10'Buy my field that is at 11Anathoth, 12for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.'
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Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in 13the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, 'Buy my field that is at 14Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
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"And I bought the field at 15Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and 16weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.
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Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy.
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And I gave the deed of purchase to 21Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of 22the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in 23the court of the guard.
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'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time.
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For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and 25fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.'
Jeremiah Prays for Understanding
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"After I had given the deed of purchase to 26Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying:
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'Ah, Lord GOD! It is 27you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by 28your outstretched arm! 29Nothing is too hard for you.
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30You show steadfast love to thousands, 31but you repay the guilt of fathers 32to their children after them, O great and 33mighty God, whose name is the 34LORD of hosts,
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35great in counsel and 36mighty in deed, 37whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, 38rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
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You have shown 39signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, 40and have made a name for yourself, as at this day.
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41You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and 42outstretched arm, 43and with great terror.
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And you gave them this land, 44which you swore to their fathers to give them, 45a land flowing with milk and honey.
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And they entered and took possession of it. 46But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them.
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Behold, 47the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and 48because of sword and famine and pestilence 49the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it.
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Yet you, O Lord GOD, have said to me, 50"Buy the field for money 51and get witnesses"--though 52the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.'"
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The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
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Therefore, thus says the LORD: 55Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.
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The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city 56shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, 57with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal 58and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, 59to provoke me to anger.
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For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight 60from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but 61provoke me to anger 62by the work of their hands, declares the LORD.
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This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, 63so that I will remove it from my sight
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because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger--64their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
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65They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them 66persistently, they have not listened 67to receive instruction.
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They built the high places of Baal 69in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, 70to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, 71though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do 72this abomination, 73to cause Judah to sin.
They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God
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"Now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, 74'It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence':
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75Behold, I will gather them from all the countries 76to which I drove them in 77my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, 78and I will make them dwell in safety.
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80I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, 81for their own good and the good of their children after them.
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82I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. 83And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.
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84I will rejoice in doing them good, 85and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
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"For thus says the LORD: 86Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.
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87Fields shall be bought in this land 88of which you are saying, 'It is a desolation, without man or beast; 89it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.'
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Fields shall be bought for money, and 90deeds shall be signed and 91sealed and 92witnessed, 93in the land of Benjamin, 94in the places about Jerusalem, 95and in the cities of Judah, 96in the cities of the hill country, 97in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for 98I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)