| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1This 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. | 1In the tenth year that Zedekiah was ruling over Judah the LORD spoke to Jeremiah. That was the same as the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. |
| 2At 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. | 2Now at that time, the armies of the king of Babylon were besieging Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse attached to the royal palace of Judah. |
| 3Zedekiah 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. | 3For King Zedekiah had confined Jeremiah there after he had reproved him for prophesying as he did. He had asked Jeremiah, "Why do you keep prophesying these things? Why do you keep saying that the LORD says, 'I will hand this city over to the king of Babylon? I will let him capture it. |
| 4Zedekiah 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. | 4King Zedekiah of Judah will not escape from the Babylonians. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylon. He must answer personally to the king of Babylon and confront him face to face. |
| 5He 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?" | 5Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon and will remain there until I have fully dealt with him. I, the LORD, affirm it! Even if you continue to fight against the Babylonians, you cannot win.'" |
| 6Jeremiah replied, "The word of the LORD came to me: | 6So now, Jeremiah said, "The LORD told me, |
| 7Watch! 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.' | 7Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, "Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitled as my closest relative 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. | 8Now it happened just as the LORD had said! My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, 'Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.' When this happened, I recognized that the LORD had indeed spoken to me. |
| 9So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out to him the money--17 shekels of silver. | 9So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver and gave it to him to pay for it. |
| 10I recorded it on a scroll, sealed it, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver in the scales. | 10I signed the deed of purchase, sealed it, and had some men serve as witnesses to the purchase. I weighed out the silver for him on a scale. |
| 11I took the purchase agreement--the sealed copy with its terms and conditions and the open copy-- | 11There were two copies of the deed of purchase. One was sealed and contained the order of transfer and the conditions of purchase. The other was left unsealed. |
| 12and 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. | 12I took both copies of the deed of purchase and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse. |
| 13"I instructed Baruch in their sight, | 13In the presence of all these people I instructed Baruch, |
| 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. | 14The LORD God of Israel who rules over all says, "Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come."' |
| 15For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.' | 15For the LORD God of Israel who rules over all 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: | 16"After I had given the copies of the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, |
| 17Oh, Lord GOD! You Yourself made the heavens and earth by Your great power and with Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! | 17Oh, Lord GOD, you did indeed make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. Nothing is too hard for you! |
| 18You show faithful love to thousands but lay the fathers' sins on their sons' laps after them, great and mighty God whose name is Yahweh of Hosts, | 18You show unfailing love to thousands. But you also punish children for the sins of their parents. You are the great and powerful God who is known as the LORD who rules over all. |
| 19the 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. | 19You plan great things and you do mighty deeds. You see everything people do. You reward each of them for the way they live and for the things they do. |
| 20You 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. | 20You did miracles and amazing deeds in the land of Egypt which have had lasting effect. By this means you gained both in Israel and among humankind a renown that lasts to this day. |
| 21You brought Your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror. | 21You used your mighty power and your great strength to perform miracles and amazing deeds and to bring great terror on the Egyptians. By this means you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt. |
| 22You gave them this land You swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. | 22You kept the promise that you swore on oath to their ancestors. You gave them a land flowing with milk and honey. |
| 23They entered and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice or live according to Your instructions. They failed to perform all You commanded them to do, and so You have brought all this disaster on them. | 23But when they came in and took possession of it, they did not obey you or live as you had instructed them. They did not do anything that you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them. |
| 24Look! 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! | 24Even now siege ramps have been built up around the city in order to capture it. War, starvation, and disease are sure to make the city fall into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. LORD, you threatened that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already taking place. |
| 25Yet 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!" | 25The city is sure to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. Yet, in spite of this, you, Lord GOD, have said to me, "Buy that field with silver and have the transaction legally witnessed."'" |
| 26Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: | 26The LORD answered Jeremiah. |
| 27"Look, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me? | 27"I am the LORD, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me. |
| 28Therefore, 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. | 28Therefore I, the LORD, say: 'I will indeed hand this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonian army. They will capture it. |
| 29The 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. | 29The Babylonian soldiers that are attacking this city will break into it and set it on fire. They will burn it down along with the houses where people have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods on their rooftops. |
| 30From 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-- | 30This will happen because the people of Israel and Judah have repeatedly done what displeases me from their earliest history until now and because they have repeatedly made me angry by the things they have done. I, the LORD, affirm it! |
| 31"for this city has caused My wrath and fury from the day it was built until now. I will therefore remove it from My presence, | 31This will happen because the people of this city have aroused my anger and my wrath since the time they built it until now. They have made me so angry that I am determined to remove it from my sight. |
| 32because 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. | 32I am determined to do so because the people of Israel and Judah have made me angry with all their wickedness--they, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, and especially the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have done this wickedness. |
| 33They 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. | 33They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. I tried over and over again to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction. |
| 34They have placed their detestable things in the house that is called by My name and have defiled it. | 34They set up their disgusting idols in the temple which I have claimed for my own and defiled it. |
| 35They 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! | 35They built places of worship for the god Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they could sacrifice their sons and daughters to the god Molech. Such a disgusting practice was not something I commanded them to do! It never even entered my mind to command them to do such a thing! So Judah is certainly liable for punishment.' |
| 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: | 36"You and your people are right in saying, 'War, starvation, and disease are sure to make this city fall into the hands of the king of Babylon.' But now I, the LORD God of Israel, have something further to say about this city: |
| 37I am about to gather them from all the lands where I have banished them in My anger, rage and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them live in safety. | 37I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety. |
| 38They will be My people, and I will be their God. | 38They will be my people, and I will be their God. |
| 39I 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. | 39I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for their own good and the good of the children who descend from them. |
| 40"I will make an everlasting covenant with them: 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. | 40I will make a lasting covenant with them that I will never stop doing good to them. I will fill their hearts and minds with respect for me so that they will never again turn away from me. |
| 41I will take delight in them to do what is good for them, and with all My heart and mind I will faithfully plant them in this land. | 41I will take delight in doing good to them. I will faithfully and wholeheartedly plant them firmly in the land.' |
| 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. | 42"For I, the LORD, say: 'I will surely bring on these people all the good fortune that I am hereby promising them. I will be just as sure to do that as I have been in bringing all this great disaster on them. |
| 43Fields 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!' | 43You and your people are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians. But fields will again be bought in this land. |
| 44Fields 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 LORD's declaration. | 44Fields will again be bought with silver, and deeds of purchase signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will happen in the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, the towns in Judah, the southern hill country, the western foothills, and southern Judah. For I will restore them to their land. I, the LORD, affirm it!'" |
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