Jeremiah

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

1This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah. That was the eighteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

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.

2At that time the army of the king of Babylon had Jerusalem surrounded. Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the guards' courtyard at the palace of the king of Judah.

Note"The court of the prison" was not a dungeon. It was an open courtyard where the palace guards were posted, so Jeremiah was held but people could still come to him.

3For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

3Zedekiah king of Judah had put him there. The king said, "Why do you keep saying this? You claim the LORD says, 'I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

4And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

4Zedekiah king of Judah will not get away from the Chaldeans. He will surely be handed over to the king of Babylon. He will speak with him face to face and look him in the eye.

5And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.

5The king of Babylon will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will stay there until I deal with him, says the LORD. If you fight the Chaldeans, you will not win.'"

6And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

6Jeremiah said, "The LORD's message came to me:

7Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.

7Look, Hanameel, the son of your uncle Shallum, is coming to you. He will say, 'Buy my field in Anathoth. You are the close relative, so the right to buy it is yours.'"

8So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.

8Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanameel came to me in the guards' courtyard. He said, "Please buy my field in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin. You are the one with the right to inherit it and buy it back. Buy it for yourself." Then I knew this really was the LORD's message.

9And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.

9So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanameel. I weighed out the payment for him: seventeen shekels of silver.

NoteSilver was weighed out on scales rather than counted as coins. Seventeen shekels is roughly seven ounces of silver.

10And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.

10I signed the deed, sealed it, and called in witnesses. Then I weighed out the silver on the scales.

11So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:

11I took the deed of purchase. There were two copies: the sealed one with the terms, and an open one anybody could read.

NoteA land sale used two copies of the same deed. One was rolled up and sealed shut so nobody could change it, and one was left open for people to read.

12And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

12I handed the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah. My cousin Hanameel watched, and so did the witnesses who signed it, and all the Jews sitting in the guards' courtyard.

13And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

13In front of them all, I gave Baruch these instructions:

14Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.

14"The LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says this: Take these deeds, both the sealed copy and the open copy, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time.

15For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

15For the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says this: houses and fields and vineyards will be bought in this land again."

16Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,

16After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:

17Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

17"Oh, Lord GOD! You made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

18Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,

18You show faithful love to thousands of people. But you lay the guilt of parents into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, your name is the LORD of Heaven's Armies.

19Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

19Your plans are great and your deeds are mighty. Your eyes are on every path people take. You pay each one back for how he lives and what he does.

20Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;

20You did signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and you still do them today, in Israel and among all people. You made a name for yourself, as we still see today.

21And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;

21You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.

22And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;

22You gave them this land that you had promised to their ancestors, a land rich with milk and honey.

23And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:

23They came in and made it their own. But they did not obey your voice or follow your law. They did nothing you commanded them, so you brought all this trouble on them.

24Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.

24Look at the ramps of earth piled up against the city to capture it. War, hunger, and disease have handed the city over to the Chaldeans who attack it. What you said would happen has happened, and you see it yourself.

Note"The mounts" are siege ramps: long piles of packed earth built up against a city wall so attacking soldiers could climb over it.

25And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

25And yet you, Lord GOD, told me, 'Buy the field with silver and call in witnesses' — even though the city is being handed over to the Chaldeans."

26Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

26Then the LORD's message came to Jeremiah:

27Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

27"I am the LORD, the God of every living thing. Is anything too hard for me?

28Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:

28So the LORD says this: I am about to hand this city over to the Chaldeans and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

29And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.

29The Chaldeans attacking this city will come in and set it on fire. They will burn it down, along with the houses where people made me angry by burning incense to Baal on their roofs and pouring out drink offerings to other gods.

30For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD.

30The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight since they were young. They have done nothing but make me angry with the things their own hands made, says the LORD.

31For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,

31This city has stirred up my anger and my fury from the day it was built until now. So I will remove it from my sight,

32Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

32because of all the evil the people of Israel and Judah have done to make me angry. They did it, and so did their kings, their officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah, and the people of Jerusalem.

33And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.

33They turned their backs to me, not their faces. I taught them again and again, but they would not listen or accept correction.

34But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.

34They set up their detestable idols in the house that carries my name, and made it unclean.

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 unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

35They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, to make their sons and daughters pass through the fire to the god Molech. I never commanded this. It never entered my mind that they would do such a detestable thing and lead Judah into sin.

36And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;

36Now about this city, the one you say will be handed to the king of Babylon by war, hunger, and disease — the LORD, the God of Israel, says this:

37Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:

37I will gather my people from all the lands where I drove them in my anger and fury and great rage. I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.

38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

38They will be my people, and I will be their God.

39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

39I will give them one heart and one way to live, so they will always honor me. This will be good for them and for their children after them.

40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

40I will make a lasting agreement with them. I will never stop doing good for them. I will put respect for me in their hearts, so they will never turn away from me.

41Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

41Yes, I will be glad to do good for them. I will plant them in this land for certain, with all my heart and all my soul.

42For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

42The LORD says this: just as I brought all this great trouble on these people, so I will bring them all the good I promised them.

43And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

43Fields will be bought in this land again — the land you call empty, with no people or animals left, handed over to the Chaldeans.

44Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.

44People will buy fields with silver. They will sign deeds, seal them, and call in witnesses. This will happen in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, in the hill towns, the foothill towns, and the towns in the south. For I will bring my people back from captivity, says the LORD.