| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 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. | 1The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah. This was also the eighteenth year of the reign of King 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. | 2Jerusalem was then under siege from the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. |
| 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. | 3King Zedekiah had put him there, asking why he kept giving this prophecy: “This is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take 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 will be captured by the Babylonians and taken to meet the king of Babylon 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?" | 5He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and I will deal with him there,’ says the LORD. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed.’” |
| 6Jeremiah replied, "The word of the LORD came to me: | 6At that time the LORD sent me a message. He said, |
| 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.' | 7“Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’” |
| 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. | 8Then, just as the LORD had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the LORD. |
| 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, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces of silver for it. |
| 10I recorded it on a scroll, sealed it, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver in the scales. | 10I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him. |
| 11I took the purchase agreement--the sealed copy with its terms and conditions and the open copy-- | 11Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase, |
| 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. | 12and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the courtyard of the guardhouse. |
| 13"I instructed Baruch in their sight, | 13Then I said to Baruch as they all listened, |
| 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. | 14“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.’ |
| 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 this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’” Jeremiah’s Prayer |
| 16"After I had given the purchase agreement to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: | 16Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, 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! | 17“O Sovereign LORD! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. 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 bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. |
| 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 have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve. |
| 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 performed miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt—things still remembered to this day! And you have continued to do great miracles in Israel and all around the world. You have made your name famous 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. | 21“You brought Israel out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, with a strong hand and powerful arm, and with overwhelming terror. |
| 22You gave them this land You swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. | 22You gave the people of Israel this land that you had promised their ancestors long before—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. | 23Our ancestors came and conquered it and lived in it, but they refused to obey you or follow your word. They have not done anything you commanded. That is why you have sent this terrible disaster upon 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! | 24“See how the siege ramps have been built against the city walls! Through war, famine, and disease, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will conquer it. Everything has happened just as you said. |
| 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!" | 25And yet, O Sovereign LORD, you have told me to buy the field—paying good money for it before these witnesses—even though the city will soon be handed over to the Babylonians.” A Prediction of Jerusalem’s Fall |
| 26Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: | 26Then this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD: |
| 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 the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard 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, this is what the LORD says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he 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 Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods. |
| 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-- | 30Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the LORD. |
| 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, | 31“From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it. |
| 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. | 32“The sins of Israel and Judah—the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets—have stirred up my anger. |
| 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. | 33My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey. |
| 34They have placed their detestable things in the house that is called by My name and have defiled it. | 34They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling 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 have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly! A Promise of Restoration |
| 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“Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: |
| 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 bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and 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. | 39And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. |
| 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. | 40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave 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 find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this 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“This is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised 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!' | 43Fields will again be bought and sold in this land about which you now say, ‘It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ |
| 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. | 44Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold—deeds signed and sealed and witnessed—in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the LORD, have spoken!” |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
