32

Jeremiah Buys a Field

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord⚓in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. ²For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up ⚓in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. ³For Zedekiah king of Judah 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 Babylon, and he shall take it; ⁴and Zedekiah king of Judah ⚓shall not escape from the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and see him ⚓eye to eye; ⁵then he shall ⚓lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be ⚓until I visit him,” says the Lord; ⚓“though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”
⁶And Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁷‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the ⚓right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’ ⁸Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. ⁹So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and ⚓weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. ¹⁰And I signed the deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. ¹¹So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open; ¹²and I gave the purchase deed to ⚓Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the ⚓witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.
¹³“Then I charged ⚓Baruch before them, saying, ¹⁴‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.” ¹⁵For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be ⚓possessed again in this land.” ’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

¹⁶“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁷‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, ⚓You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. ⚓There is nothing too hard for You. ¹⁸You show ⚓lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, ⚓the Mighty God, whose name is⚓the Lord of hosts. ¹⁹You are⚓great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your ⚓eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, ⚓to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. ²⁰You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself ⚓a name, as it is this day. ²¹You ⚓have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²²You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—⚓“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ²³And they came in and took possession of it, but ⚓they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.
²⁴‘Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of ⚓the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it! ²⁵And You have said to me, O Lord God, “Buy the field for money, and take witnesses”!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ ”

God’s Assurance of the People’s Return

²⁶Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ²⁷“Behold, I am the Lord, the ⚓God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? ²⁸Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it. ²⁹And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and ⚓set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses ⚓on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger; ³⁰because the children of Israel and the children of Judah ⚓have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,’ says the Lord. ³¹‘For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; ⚓so I will remove it from before My face ³²because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger—⚓they, their kings, their princes, their priests, ⚓their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³And they have turned to Me the ⚓back, and not the face; though I taught them, ⚓rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction. ³⁴But they ⚓set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. ³⁵And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to ⚓cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to ⚓Molech, ⚓which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’
³⁶“Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence’: ³⁷Behold, I will ⚓gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them ⚓to dwell safely. ³⁸They shall be ⚓My people, and I will be their God; ³⁹then I will ⚓give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. ⁴⁰And ⚓I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but ⚓I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. ⁴¹Yes, ⚓I will rejoice over them to do them good, and ⚓I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’
⁴²“For thus says the Lord: ⚓‘Just as I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. ⁴³And fields will be bought in this land ⚓of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” ⁴⁴Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in ⚓the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for ⚓I will cause their captives to return,’ says the Lord.”

32

Yelemi yuav daim teb ntawm Anathau

¹No yog tej lus uas Yawmsaub hais tuaj rau Yelemi rau xyoo kaum uas Xedekhiya ua vajntxwv kav Yuda, thiab yog xyoo kaum yim uas Nenpukhanexa ua vajntxwv. ²Thaum ntawd vajntxwv Npanpiloo cov tub rog tabtom vij lub nroog Yeluxalees thiab Yelemi uas ua xibhwb cev Vajtswv lus kuj raug muab kaw rau hauv cov tub rog uas zov vajntxwv lub loog uas nyob hauv Yuda tus vajntxwv lub vaj. ³Yuda tus vajntxwv Xedekhiya tau muab Yelemi kaw thiab hais tias, “Ua cas koj cev Vajtswv lus hais tias, ‘Yawmsaub hais li no tias, Saib maj, kuv yuav muab lub nroog no rau hauv vajntxwv Npanpiloo txhais tes, thiab nws yuav txeeb tau lub nroog no. ⁴Yuda tus vajntxwv Xedekhiya yuav khiav tsis dim cov Kheedia txhais tes, ces nws yuav raug muab cob rau hauv vajntxwv Npanpiloo txhais tes tiag tiag li, thiab yuav tau nrog vajntxwv Npanpiloo sib txuas lus ntawm ncauj thiab pom nws tim ntsej tim muag. ⁵Vajntxwv Npanpiloo yuav coj Xedekhiya mus rau Npanpiloo, mas Xedekhiya yuav nyob qhov ntawd mus txog thaum kuv rau txim rau nws. Txawm yog koj ua rog rau cov Kheedia los koj yuav kov tsis yeej. Yawmsaub hais li no ntag.’ ”
⁶Yelemi hais tias, “Yawmsaub hais tej lus tuaj rau kuv tias, ⁷Saib maj, koj txiv ntxawm Salu tus tub Hanamee yuav tuaj cuag koj thiab hais tias, ‘Cia li yuav kuv daim teb ntawm Anathau, rau qhov koj muaj feem txhiv yuav ua koj tug.’ ⁸Mas kuv tus kwvtij Hanamee tuaj cuag kuv ntawm cov tub rog uas zov vajntxwv lub loog raws li tej lus uas Yawmsaub tau hais rau kuv lawm, mas Hanamee hais tias, ‘Cia li yuav kuv daim teb ntawm Anathau uas nyob hauv Npeeyamee tebchaws, rau qhov koj muaj feem tuav ua koj tug thiab txhiv rau koj. Cia li yuav maj.’ Mas kuv thiaj paub tias no yog Yawmsaub li lus tiag.
⁹“Mas kuv thiaj yuav daim teb hauv Anathau ntawm kuv tus kwvtij Hanamee, thiab kuv luj kaum xya sekee nyiaj⚓ rau nws. ¹⁰Kuv thiaj sau npe rau hauv daim ntawv teb thiab ntaus cim nias rau, muaj timkhawv thiab muab teev luj nyiaj rau. ¹¹Kuv thiaj txais daim ntawv yuav teb uas ntaus cim rau lawm uas muaj ntsiab los muag thiab yuav, thiab daim ntawv uas tsis tau ntaus cim. ¹²Mas kuv muab daim ntawv yuav teb rau Npalu uas yog Neliya tus tub, tab meeg kuv tus kwvtij Hanamee thiab cov timkhawv uas teev npe rau daim ntawv yuav teb thiab tab meeg cov Yudai sawvdaws uas zaum hauv cov tub rog uas zov vajntxwv lub loog. Npalu yawg yog Maxeya. ¹³Kuv thiaj hais rau Npalu tab meeg lawv tias, ¹⁴‘Yawmsaub tus muaj hwjchim loj kawg nkaus uas yog Yixayee tus Vajtswv hais li no tias, Cia li coj daim ntawv teb no mus, yog daim uas ntaus cim rau thiab daim uas tsis ntaus, mas muab ntim rau hauv ib lub hub av thiaj nyob tau ntev, ¹⁵rau qhov Yawmsaub tus muaj hwjchim loj kawg nkaus uas yog Yixayee tus Vajtswv hais li no tias, Tej vaj tse tej teb thiab tej vaj txiv hmab hauv lub tebchaws no yuav raug muab muag thiab yuav dua ib zaug thiab.’
¹⁶“Thaum kuv muab daim ntawv yuav teb rau Neliya tus tub Npalu lawm, kuv thov Yawmsaub hais tias, ¹⁷Au Vajtswv Yawmsaub, koj yog tus uas siv koj lub hwjchim loj kawg thiab koj tsa hlo koj txhais npab tsim ntuj tsim ntiajteb. Tsis muaj ib yam dabtsi uas koj ua tsis tau. ¹⁸Koj yog tus uas ua txojkev hlub ruaj khov tshwm rau ntau txhiab leej, thiab rau txim rau tus neeg uas ua txhaum tej menyuam uas tshwm los tom qab. Au Vajtswv uas loj kawg thiab muaj hwjchim loj, koj lub npe yog Yawmsaub uas muaj hwjchim loj kawg nkaus. ¹⁹Koj yog lub chaw sablaj ntxig nug zoo heev thiab koj tej haujlwm muaj hwjchim loj kawg. Koj lub qhov muag pom ntsoov txhua yam uas neeg ua, thiab pub nqe zog rau txhua tus raws li uas lawv xyaum ua lawv lub neej thiab pub raws li tej uas lawv ua. ²⁰Koj yog tus uas ua txujci tseem ceeb thiab txujci phimhwj tshwm rau hauv Iyi tebchaws, thiab los txog niaj hnub nimno kuj ua tshwm rau hauv Yixayee tebchaws thiab hauv nruab nrab ib tsoom neeg, thiab ua koj lub npe nto moo lug yam li niaj hnub nimno. ²¹Koj ua txujci tseem ceeb thiab txujci phimhwj coj koj haiv neeg Yixayee tawm hauv Iyi tebchaws los, koj siv koj txhais tes uas muaj hwjchim thiab tsa hlo koj txhais npab thiab ua kom muaj kev txhawj kev ntshai kawg li. ²²Koj muab lub tebchaws no rau lawv, yog lub tebchaws uas koj tau cog lus tseg rau lawv tej poj koob yawm txwv tias yuav pub rau lawv, yog lub tebchaws uas muaj kua mis thiab zib ntab ntws nto. ²³Lawv tau txeem los thiab tuav tau lub tebchaws no ua lawv tug. Tiamsis lawv tsis mloog koj lus thiab tsis ua raws li koj txoj kevcai thiab tsis ua ib yam dabtsi raws li koj hais kom lawv ua kiag li. Vim li no koj thiaj tso tej xwm txheej phem no huvsi los raug lawv.
²⁴“ ‘Saib maj, twb tib tej chaw siab vij yuav txeeb lub nroog lawm. Vim tej hniav ntaj thiab kev tshaib nqhis thiab mob kis lub nroog twb raug muab rau hauv cov Kheedia uas tabtom ua rog ntawd txhais tes lawm. Tej lus uas koj hais twb muaj raws li ntawd lawm, koj yeej pom ntsoov. ²⁵Au Vajtswv Yawmsaub, txawm yog lub nroog no raug muab rau hauv cov Kheedia txhais tes lawm, los koj tseem hais rau kuv tias, Rho nyiaj yuav daim teb thiab nrhiav timkhawv.’ ”
²⁶Yawmsaub hais lus tuaj rau Yelemi tias, ²⁷“Saib maj, kuv yog Yawmsaub, yog ib tsoom neeg tus Vajtswv, muaj ib yam dabtsi twg uas kuv ua tsis tau lov? ²⁸Vim li no Yawmsaub hais li no tias, Saib maj, kuv tabtom muab lub nroog no cob rau hauv cov Kheedia txhais tes thiab muab cob rau vajntxwv Nenpukhanexa hauv Npanpiloo txhais tes mas nws yuav txeeb tau. ²⁹Cov Kheedia uas ua rog ntaus lub nroog no yuav tuaj muab lub nroog no hlawv kub hnyiab tag, thiab yuav kub tej tsev uas lawv hlawv xyab xyeem rau dab Npa‑as thiab hliv cawv txiv hmab xyeem rau luag tej dab saum lawv txheej tsev las tshav, zes kom kuv chim. ³⁰Yixayee caj ces thiab Yuda caj ces tsis tau ua ib yam dabtsi zoo tsuas yog ua kev phem rau kuv pom txij thaum yau los li xwb. Yixayee caj ces tsis tau ib yam dabtsi li, lawv txhais tes tsuas yog ua tej haujlwm uas zes kom kuv chim. Yawmsaub hais li no ntag. ³¹Lub nroog no tau zes kom kuv chim thiab npau taws txij hnub uas rhawv los txog niaj hnub nimno. Vim li no kuv yuav muab rhuav tshem ntawm kuv lub qhov muag mus, ³²vim yog Yixayee caj ces thiab Yuda caj ces tej kev phem txhua yam uas zes ua rau kuv chim, twb yog lawv tej vajntxwv thiab lawv cov thawj coj thiab lawv cov pov thawj thiab lawv cov xibhwb cev lus thiab cov Yuda thiab cov uas nyob hauv Yeluxalees sawvdaws ua ntag. ³³Lawv tau tig nrob qaum rau kuv, tsis yog tig ntsej muag rau kuv. Txawm yog kuv twb qhia lawv tsis tu ncua, los lawv tsis mloog tsis txais yuav tej lus qhuab qhia. ³⁴Lawv muab tej uas qias vuab tsuab txawb rau hauv lub tuam tsev uas hu raws li kuv lub npe thiaj puas tsuas lub tuam tsev. ³⁵Lawv ua lub chaw siab teev dab Npa‑as rau hauv lub hav Npeehinoo lawv thiaj muab lawv tej tub tej ntxhais txi rau dab Maulej, yog yam uas kuv tsis tau kom lawv ua, thiab kuv tsis tau xav rau hauv kuv lub siab tias lawv yuav ua tej uas qias vuab tsuab li no ua rau Yuda txhaum muaj txim.
³⁶“Vim li no Yawmsaub uas yog Yixayee tus Vajtswv thiaj hais txog lub nroog no uas nej hais tias, ‘Lub nroog no twb raug muab cob rau hauv vajntxwv Npanpiloo txhais tes lawm, yog raug hniav ntaj hniav riam thiab kev tshaib nqhis thiab mob kis.’ ³⁷Saib maj, kuv yuav sau lawv hauv txhua lub tebchaws uas kuv npau taws vog thiab chim heev es muab lawv ntiab mus nyob lawm rov los. Kuv yuav coj lawv rov los rau lub chaw no, thiab kuv yuav pub lawv nyob tso siab plhuav. ³⁸Lawv yuav ua kuv haiv neeg, thiab kuv yuav ua lawv tus Vajtswv. ³⁹Kuv yuav ua kom lawv ua ib lub siab thiab taug ib txojkev, kom lawv thiaj li hwm thiab paub ntshai kuv mus ib txhis, thiaj li zoo rau lawv thiab zoo rau lawv tej tub ki tom qab. ⁴⁰Kuv yuav cog lus tseg rau lawv mus ib txhis tias kuv yuav tsis tseg qhov uas ua zoo rau lawv, kuv yuav muab lub siab uas hwm thiab paub ntshai kuv rau hauv lawv kom lawv thiaj tsis tso kuv tseg. ⁴¹Kuv yuav zoo siab qhov uas ua zoo rau lawv, thiab kuv ruaj siab yuav muab lawv cog cia rau hauv lub tebchaws no kawg kuv lub siab lub ntsws.
⁴²“Yawmsaub hais li no tias, Kuv twb tso xwm txheej phem loj los raug cov neeg no li cas lawm, kuv yuav coj tej kev zoo raws li kuv cog lus tseg lawm huvsi los rau lawv thiab. ⁴³Lawv yuav muag thiab yuav tej teb hauv lub tebchaws no uas nej hais tias, ‘Nyob do cuas tsis muaj neeg thiab tsiaj txhu nyob li, lub tebchaws raug muab rau hauv cov Kheedia txhais tes lawm.’ ⁴⁴Yuav rho nyiaj yuav tej teb, thiab tej ntawv teb yuav sau npe thiab ntaus cim thiab muaj timkhawv, tsis hais hauv Npeeyamee tebchaws thiab ib ncig Yeluxalees thiab hauv Yuda tej moos thiab tej moos pem toj siab thiab tej moos ntawm tej pov roob Sefela, thiab tej moos hauv Neke, rau qhov kuv yuav pub lawv rov qab vam meej li qub. Yawmsaub hais li no ntag.”