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

Ye^le^mi Maaiz Ndau

¹Se^nde^ki^yaa zoux Yu^ndaa nyei hungh da'ziepc hnyangx wuov hnyangx, se Ne^mbu^katv^netv^saa zoux hungh ziepc betv wuov hnyangx, Ye^le^mi duqv zipv Ziouv nyei waac.⚓ ²Wuov zanc Mbaa^mbi^lon hungh nyei jun-baeng weih jienv Ye^lu^saa^lem. Douc waac mienh, Ye^le^mi, yaac zuqc wuonx jienv yiem siouv gaeng nyei baeng nyei laatc gu'nyuoz, se yiem Yu^ndaa hungh nyei dinc.
³Weic zuqc Yu^ndaa hungh, Se^nde^ki^yaa, zorqv ninh wuonx jienv yaac gorngv, “Meih weic haaix diuc douc waac gorngv, ‘Ziouv hnangv naaiv gorngv, “Yie oix zorqv naaiv norm zingh jiu bun yiem Mbaa^mbi^lon hungh nyei buoz-ndiev. Ninh ziouc caangv naaiv norm zingh aqv. ⁴Yu^ndaa nyei hungh, Se^nde^ki^yaa, biaux maiv ndutv Ken^ndie Mienh nyei buoz-ndiev, mv baac ndongc haaix zungv zuqc jiu bun yiem Mbaa^mbi^lon hungh nyei buoz-ndiev yaac duqv caux ninh hmien doix hmien gorngv waac, m'zing doix m'zing mangc. ⁵Ninh oix dorh Se^nde^ki^yaa mingh taux Mbaa^mbi^lon. Se^nde^ki^yaa yaac oix zuqc yiem naaic taux yie mingh lorz ninh. Maiv gunv meih mborqv Ken^ndie Mienh, meih yaac mborqv maiv hingh.’ Naaiv se Ziouv gorngv nyei waac.”
⁶Ye^le^mi gorngv, “Yie duqv zipv Ziouv nyei waac gorngv, ⁷“Meih nyei youz-diex, Sanlum nyei dorn, Haa^nam^en, oix daaih lorz meih gorngv, ‘Tov meih maaiz yiem An^naa^totv yie wuov nzong ndau, weic zuqc meih maaiz benx meih nyei se horpc zuoqc nzuonx nyei leiz.’
⁸“Yie nyei youz-diex nyei dorn, Haa^nam^en, ziouc daaih taux siouv gaeng nyei baeng nyei laatc gu'nyuoz lorz yie gorngv, ‘Tov meih maaiz yiem Mben^yaa^min Deic, Aa^naa^totv, yie wuov nzong ndau, weic zuqc meih maaih leiz zuoqc nzuonx benx meih nyei buonc. Maaiz benx meih ganh nyei maah!’
“Yie ziouc hiuv duqv naaiv se Ziouv nyei waac. ⁹Yie ziouc tengx youz-diex nyei dorn, Haa^nam^en, maaiz yiem Aa^naa^totv wuov nzong ndau. Yie nziang ziepc cietv norm zinh⚓ jiu bun ninh. ¹⁰Yie ziouc faaux mbuox yiem wuov ndau-sou yaac naetv jienv⚓ heuc mienh zoux zorng-zengx aengx longc dangv nziang nyaanh. ¹¹Yie zorqv naetv jienv nyei ndau-sou, dongh fiev jienv maaiz wuov nzong ndau nyei yietc nyeic, aengx zorqv maiv naetv wuov kuaaiv. ¹²Nqa'haav yie dorng jienv yie nyei youz-diex nyei dorn, Haa^nam^en, caux faaux mbuox yiem maaiz ndau nyei ndau-sou wuov deix zorng-zengx mienh, aengx caux zueiz jienv siouv gaeng nyei baeng nyei laatc gu'nyuoz nyei yietc zungv Yiutai Mienh, zorqv maaiz ndau nyei sou jiu bun Maa^se^yaa nyei fun, Ne^li^yaa nyei dorn, Mbaalukv.
¹³Yie dorng jienv ninh mbuo hatc Mbaalukv. Yie gorngv, ¹⁴‘Nernh Jiex nyei Ziouv, I^saa^laa^en nyei Tin-Hungh, hnangv naaiv gorngv, “Zorqv naaiv deix i kuaaiv ndau-sou, liemh naetv jienv wuov kuaaiv caux maiv naetv wuov kuaaiv maaiz ndau nyei sou, dapv jienv nie-ongx weic haih liouh duqv lauh.” ¹⁵Weic zuqc Nernh Jiex nyei Ziouv, I^saa^laa^en nyei Tin-Hungh, hnangv naaiv gorngv, ‘Yiem naaiv norm deic-bung aengx oix maaih mienh maaiz biauv, lingh deic caux a'ngunc huingx.’
¹⁶“Yie zorqv maaiz ndau nyei sou bun Ne^li^yaa nyei dorn, Mbaalukv, liuz, yie daux gaux tov Ziouv,
¹⁷“Ziouv Tin-Hungh aah! Se dongh meih sung meih nyei buoz cuotv, longc meih nyei domh qaqv zeix lungh zeix ndau. Weic meih maiv maaih haaix nyungc aqc jiex ndaangc. ¹⁸Meih bun cing meih ziepc zuoqv nyei hnamv cin-cin waanc-waanc mienh. Mv baac die baamz zuiz meih winh bun ninh nyei dorn-jueiv fun-faqv. Hlo haic, henv haic nyei Tin-Hungh, maaih mbuox heuc Nernh Jiex nyei Ziouv aac, ¹⁹meih nyei za'eix hlo haic, meih zoux nyei sic henv. Meih nyei m'zing mangc jienv baamh mienh nyei diuh diuh jauv, yaac ziux gorqv-mienh nyei jauv caux zoux nyei sic meih winh bun ninh mbuo. ²⁰Meih yiem I^yipv Deic-Bung zoux jangx-hoc caux mbuoqc horngh nyei sic taux ih jaax hnoi yaac yiem I^saa^laa^en Mienh caux zuangx baamh mienh mbu'ndongx zoux, bun meih ganh duqv mengh dauh hnangv ih hnoi nor. ²¹Meih longc jangx-hoc caux mbuoqc horngh nyei sic yaac sung cuotv meih henv haic nyei buoz aengx longc gamh nziex nyei domh sic dorh meih nyei baeqc fingx, I^saa^laa^en Mienh, cuotv I^yipv Deic-Bung. ²²Meih zorqv naaiv norm deic-bung jiu bun ninh mbuo, dongh meih houv jienv laengz bun ninh mbuo nyei ong-taaix. Benx norm ndau-touv longx nyei deic-bung.⚓ ²³Ninh mbuo duqv bieqc naaiv norm deic-bung nzipc benx ninh mbuo nyei buonc. Mv baac ninh mbuo maiv muangx meih nyei waac⚓ yaac maiv yangh meih nyei leiz-latc. Meih hatc ninh mbuo zoux nyei yietc zungv ninh mbuo yietc nyungc yaac maiv zoux. Weic naaiv meih bun ninh mbuo zuqc naaiv deix yietc zungv ciouv nyei zeqc naanc.
²⁴Mangc maah! Nie ndui jienv daaih weih gormx oix mborqv naaiv norm zingh. Yaac laaix nzuqc ndaauv caux ngorc hnaangx nyei jauv caux wuon-baengc, naaiv norm zingh zuqc jiu bun daaih mborqv zingh nyei Ken^ndie Mienh. Ziux meih gorngv nyei waac za'gengh cuotv daaih. Meih yaac buatc liuz aqv. ²⁵Mv baac Ziouv Tin-Hungh aac, meih corc mbuox yie, oix zuqc longc nyaanh maaiz wuov nzong ndau yaac lorz mienh zoux zorng-zengx, maiv gunv naaiv norm zingh zuqc jiu bun yiem Ken^ndie Mienh nyei buoz-ndiev.’+”
²⁶Ye^le^mi duqv zipv Ziouv nyei waac gorngv, ²⁷“Yie se Ziouv, yietc zungv baamh mienh nyei Tin-Hungh. Maaih haaix nyungc weic yie aqc jiex ndaangc fai? ²⁸Weic naaiv Ziouv hnangv naaiv gorngv, ‘Yie zorqv naaiv norm zingh jiu bun yiem Ken^ndie Mienh nyei buoz-ndiev yaac jiu bun yiem Mbaa^mbi^lon nyei hungh, Ne^mbu^katv^netv^saa, nyei buoz-ndiev. Ninh yaac caangv duqv aqv.⚓ ²⁹Mborqv naaiv norm zingh nyei Ken^ndie Mienh oix daaih bungx douz buov naaiv norm zingh, liemh biauv yaac buov qui nzengc. Mienh yiem naaiv deix biauv-ngorh⚓ buov hung bun ⟨Mbaa^an zienh⟩ yaac ciev ziec bun nyiec nyei zienh, cuoqv yie qiex jiez.
³⁰“I^saa^laa^en Mienh caux Yu^ndaa Mienh yiem lunx nyei ziangh hoc m'daaih yiem yie nyei nza'hmien kungx zoux orqv sic hnangv. I^saa^laa^en Mienh kungx longc ninh mbuo nyei buoz zoux nyei gong cuoqv yie qiex jiez hnangv.” Naaiv se Ziouv gorngv nyei waac. ³¹“Naaiv norm zingh yiem ceix jiez daaih wuov hnoi taux ih hnoi cuoqv yie qiex jiez, nouz haic. Yie ziouc zorqv nqoi naaiv norm zingh, maiv bun yiem yie nyei nza'hmien, ³²laaix I^saa^laa^en Mienh caux Yu^ndaa Mienh zoux nyei yietc zungv orqv sic cuoqv yie qiex jiez, se ninh mbuo nyei hungh, ninh mbuo nyei jien, ninh mbuo nyei sai mienh caux douc waac mienh, Yu^ndaa Mienh caux yiem Ye^lu^saa^lem nyei baeqc fingx. ³³Ninh mbuo huin diqc daanz bun yie, maiv zeiz huin hmien. Maiv gunv yie maiv dingh liouh nyei njaaux ninh mbuo, ninh mbuo maiv muangx weic zipv yie njaaux nyei waac. ³⁴Ninh mbuo zorqv gamh nziev nyei ga'naaiv liepc yiem dongh gan yie nyei Mbuox heuc wuov norm biauv, bun maaih uix.⚓ ³⁵Ninh mbuo yiem Mben Hinnom Horngz weic Mbaa^an zienh ceix hlang nyei dorngx, zorqv ninh mbuo nyei naamh nyouz fongc horc⚓ bun ⟨Molekv zienh,⟩ maiv gunv yie maiv paaiv ninh mbuo zoux. Yie zungv maiv hnamv taux ninh mbuo oix zoux naaiv deix gamh nziev haic nyei sic bun Yu^ndaa baamz zuiz.⚓
³⁶“Meih mbuo hnangv naaiv gorngv taux naaiv norm zingh, ‘Laaix zuqc nzuqc ndaauv, zuqc ngorc hnaangx, zuqc wuon-baengc, naaiv norm zingh oix zuqc jiu bun yiem Mbaa^mbi^lon hungh nyei buoz-ndiev. Mv baac Ziouv, I^saa^laa^en nyei Tin-Hungh, hnangv naaiv gorngv, ³⁷‘Yie oix yiem dongh yie qiex jiez, nouz haic, ga'qiex baetv cuotv daaih zunc ninh mbuo cuotv mingh yiem nyei norm-norm guoqv, siou ninh mbuo zunv. Yie oix dorh ninh mbuo nzuonx taux naaiv norm dorngx yaac oix bun ninh mbuo baengh orn nyei yiem. ³⁸Ninh mbuo oix zoux yie nyei baeqc fingx, yie yaac oix zoux ninh mbuo nyei Tin-Hungh.⚓ ³⁹Yie oix bun ninh mbuo maaih nduqc diuh hnyouv, maaih nduqc diuh jauv weic bun ninh mbuo yietc liuz taaih yie, yaac weic bun ninh mbuo ganh caux ninh mbuo nqa'haav hingv nyei zeiv-fun duqv longx. ⁴⁰Yie oix caux ninh mbuo liepc yietc liuz nyei ngaengc waac, se yie yietc liuz zoux longx bun ninh mbuo, maiv huin mingh ganh bung. Yie oix bun ninh mbuo nyei hnyouv taaih yie, weic bun ninh mbuo maiv leih nqoi yie. ⁴¹Yie oix a'hneiv nyei zoux longx bun ninh mbuo yaac longc nzengc hnyouv, longc nzengc za'eix, ziepc zuoqv nyei liepc ninh mbuo jiez yiem naaiv norm deic-bung.
⁴²“Weic zuqc Ziouv hnangv naaiv gorngv, ‘Yie hnangv haaix nor bun naaiv deix baeqc fingx zuqc naaiv deix yietc zungv ciouv nyei domh zeqc naanc, yie oix hnangv wuov nor ziux yie laengz nyei waac zorqv yietc zungv longx nyei jauv bun ninh mbuo. ⁴³Meih mbuo gorngv, “Naaiv norm deic-bung benx baaic huaang nyei dorngx. Maiv maaih mienh yaac maiv maaih saeng-kuv, se zuqc jiu bun yiem Ken^ndie Mienh nyei buoz-ndiev.” Mv baac aengx maaih mienh duqv yiem naaiv maaiz ndau. ⁴⁴Mienh oix longc nyaanh maaiz ndau, yaac faaux mbuox ndau-sou, naetv jienv,⚓ yaac maaih mienh zoux zorng-zengx, yiem Mben^yaa^min Deic, yiem Ye^lu^saa^lem weih gormx nyei dorngx, yiem Yu^ndaa nyei zingh, yiem mbong-aiv dorngx nyei zingh, yiem mbong-juoqv⚓ nyei zingh caux ⟨Negepc⟩ nyei zingh, weic zuqc yie oix bun ninh mbuo aengx duqv longx hnangv loz wuov nor.” Naaiv se Ziouv gorngv nyei waac.