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

耶利米購置田地

¹猶大王西底家第十年，就是尼布甲尼撒十八年，耶和華的話臨到耶利米。 ²那時巴比倫王的軍隊圍困耶路撒冷，耶利米先知被囚在猶大王宮中護衛兵的院內； ³因為猶大王西底家囚禁他，說：「你為甚麼預言耶和華如此說：『看哪，我要把這城交在巴比倫王的手中，他必攻下這城。 ⁴猶大王西底家必不能逃脫迦勒底人的手，定要交在巴比倫王手中，他要親眼看到巴比倫王，親口跟他說話。 ⁵巴比倫王要將西底家帶到巴比倫；西底家必住在那裏，直到我懲罰⚓他的時候。你們雖與迦勒底人爭戰，卻不順利。這是耶和華說的。』」
⁶耶利米說：「耶和華的話臨到我，說： ⁷『看哪，你叔父沙龍的兒子哈拿篾必到你這裏來，說：請你買我在亞拿突的那塊地，因為你有代贖的責任。』 ⁸我叔父的兒子哈拿篾果然照耶和華的話來到護衛兵的院內，對我說：『請你買我在便雅憫境內、亞拿突的那塊地；因為它應該由你來承受，而且你也有代贖的責任。請你買下它吧！』我就知道這確是耶和華的話。
⁹「我便向我叔父的兒子哈拿篾買了亞拿突的那塊地，秤了十七舍客勒銀子給他。 ¹⁰我在契上簽字，將契封緘，又請證人來，用天平把銀子秤給他。 ¹¹我又將按照法定條例所立的買契，就是封緘的那一張和敞開的那一張， ¹²在我叔父的兒子⚓哈拿篾和簽字作證的人，並坐在護衛兵院內所有猶大人眼前，交給瑪西雅的孫子尼利亞的兒子巴錄。 ¹³我在眾人眼前囑咐巴錄說： ¹⁴『萬軍之耶和華－以色列的上帝如此說：你拿着這文件，就是封緘的和敞開的買契，把它們放在瓦器裏，以便長久保存。 ¹⁵因為萬軍之耶和華－以色列的上帝如此說：將來在這地必有人再購置房屋、田地和葡萄園。』」

耶利米的祈禱

¹⁶「我將買契交給尼利亞的兒子巴錄以後，就向耶和華禱告說： ¹⁷『唉！主耶和華，看哪，你曾用大能和伸出來的膀臂創造天和地，在你沒有難成的事。 ¹⁸你施慈愛給千萬人，又將祖先的罪孽報應在他後世子孫身上。至大全能的上帝啊，萬軍之耶和華是你的名， ¹⁹你謀事有大略，行事有大能，注目觀看世人一切的舉動，為要照各人所做的和他做事的結果報應他。 ²⁰你在埃及地顯神蹟奇事，直到今日在以色列和世人中間也是如此，建立了自己的名聲，正如今日一樣。 ²¹你用神蹟奇事、大能的手、伸出來的膀臂和大可畏的事，領你的百姓以色列出了埃及， ²²把這地賞賜給他們，就是你向他們列祖起誓應許要賜給他們的流奶與蜜之地。 ²³他們進入並取得這地，卻不聽從你的話，也不遵行你的律法。你吩咐他們所當行的，他們都不去行，因此你使這一切的災禍臨到他們。 ²⁴看哪，敵人已經來到，用土堆攻取這城；這城也因刀劍、饑荒、瘟疫被交在攻城的迦勒底人手中。你所說的話都應驗了，看哪，你也看見了。 ²⁵主耶和華啊，你卻對我說，要用銀子為自己買那塊地，又請人作證；其實這城已交在迦勒底人的手中了。』」
²⁶耶和華的話臨到耶利米，說： ²⁷「看哪，我是耶和華，是凡有血肉之軀者的上帝，在我豈有難成的事嗎？ ²⁸耶和華如此說：看哪，我必將這城交給迦勒底人的手和巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒的手，他必攻取這城。 ²⁹攻城的迦勒底人必來放火焚燒這城和城裏的房屋；人曾在這房頂上向巴力燒香，向別神獻澆酒祭，惹我發怒。 ³⁰以色列人和猶大人從年輕時，就專做我眼中看為惡的事。以色列人盡以手所做的惹我發怒。這是耶和華說的。 ³¹這城自從建造的那日直到今日，常惹我的怒氣和憤怒，以致我將這城從我面前除掉； ³²這是因以色列人和猶大人一切的邪惡，就是他們和他們的君王、官長、祭司、先知，並猶大人，以及耶路撒冷居民所做的，惹我發怒。 ³³他們以背向我，不以面向我；我雖然一再教導他們，他們卻不聽從，不領受訓誨， ³⁴竟把可憎之偶像設立在稱為我名下的殿中，玷污了這殿。 ³⁵他們在欣嫩子谷建造巴力的丘壇，把自己的兒女經火獻給摩洛；他們行這可憎的事，使猶大陷在罪裏，這並不是我吩咐的，我心裏也從來沒有想過。」

復國的應許

³⁶現在論到這城，就是你們所說，已經因刀劍、饑荒、瘟疫被交在巴比倫王手中的，耶和華－以色列的上帝如此說： ³⁷「看哪，我曾在怒氣、憤怒和大惱怒中，將以色列人趕到各國；我必從那裏將他們召集出來，領他們回到此地，使他們安然居住。 ³⁸他們要作我的子民，我要作他們的上帝。 ³⁹我要使他們彼此同心同道，好叫他們永遠敬畏我，使他們和他們後世的子孫得享福樂。 ⁴⁰我要跟他們立永遠的約，要施恩給他們，絕不轉離；又要把敬畏我的心放在他們心裏，不離棄我。 ⁴¹我必歡喜施恩給他們，盡心盡意、真誠地將他們栽於此地。
⁴²「因為耶和華如此說：我怎樣使這一切大災禍臨到這百姓，也要照樣使我所應許他們的一切福樂都臨到他們。 ⁴³你們所說荒涼、無人、無牲畜，已交給迦勒底人手的這地，必有人購置田地。 ⁴⁴在便雅憫地、耶路撒冷四圍的各處、猶大的城鎮、山地的城鎮、謝非拉的城鎮，並尼革夫的城鎮，人必用銀子買田地，在契上簽字，將契封緘，找人作證，因為我必使被擄的人歸回。這是耶和華說的。」