Jeremiah 32
Expanded Bible
Jeremiah Buys a Field
32 This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah in the tenth year Zedekiah was king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar [C 587 bc; 52:4–5]. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was ·surrounding [besieging] Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was ·under arrest [imprisoned; confined] in the courtyard of the guard, which was at the ·palace [L house] of the king of Judah.
3 Zedekiah king of Judah had ·put Jeremiah in prison there [confined; imprisoned him]. Zedekiah had asked, “Why have you prophesied the things you have?” (Jeremiah had said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will soon hand this city [C Jerusalem] over to the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not ·escape [be rescued] from the ·Babylonian [L Chaldean] army, but he will surely be handed over to the king of Babylon. And he will speak to him [C the king of Babylon] face to face and see him with his own eyes. 5 The king will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will stay until I have punished him,’ says the Lord. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”)
6 Jeremiah said [C while still in prison], “The Lord spoke this word to me: 7 Hanamel, son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. Hanamel will say to you, ‘Buy my field near the town of Anathoth [C Jeremiah’s hometown; 1:1]. It is your right and your duty to buy that field [C because he is a near relative; Lev. 25:23–25].’
8 “Then it happened just as the Lord had said. ·My cousin [L The son of my uncle] Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said to me, ‘Buy for yourself my field near Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. It is your right and duty to buy it and own it.’ So I knew this was a ·message [L word] from the Lord.
9 “I bought the field at Anathoth from ·my cousin [L the son of my uncle] Hanamel, weighing out ·seven ounces [L seventeen shekels] of silver for him. 10 I ·signed the record [L wrote in a scroll] and sealed it and had some people witness it. I also weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 Then I took both copies of the ·record [scroll] of ·ownership [purchase]—the one that was sealed that had the demands and ·limits of ownership [terms], and the one that was ·not sealed [L exposed]. 12 And I gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah [36; 43:3, 6; 45:1–2]. My cousin Hanamel, the other witnesses who signed the ·record [scroll] of ·ownership [purchase], and many ·Jews [L Judeans] sitting in the courtyard of the guard saw me give the ·record [scroll] of ·ownership [purchase] to Baruch.
13 “·With all the people watching [L Before their eyes], I ·told [L commanded] Baruch, 14 ‘This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: Take both copies of the ·record [scroll] of ·ownership [purchase]—the sealed copy and the copy that was ·not sealed [L exposed]—and put them in a clay jar so they will ·last [endure; stand] ·a long time [L for many days]. 15 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: In the future my people will once again buy houses and fields and vineyards in this land [C Israel].’
16 “After I gave the ·record [scroll] of ·ownership [purchase] to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, 17 Oh, Lord God, you made the ·skies [heavens] and the earth with your very great power [Gen. 1] and ·strength [L outstretched arm]. There is nothing too hard for you to do [Ex. 3:20; Job 9:10; 37:5; Mic. 7:15]. 18 You show ·love and kindness [loyalty] to thousands of people, but you also ·bring punishment to children for their parents’ sins [L repay the iniquities of the fathers to the laps of their children after them; Ex. 34:7; Deut. 5:9–10]. Great and powerful God, your name is the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 19 You ·plan [are great in counsel] and ·do great things [mighty in deeds]. ·You see everything that people do [L Your eyes are open to all the ways/paths of people], and you ·reward people for the way they live and for what they do [L give to each according to his way and according to the fruit of his deeds]. 20 You did ·miracles [signs] and wonderful things in the land of Egypt [Ex. 7–15]. You have continued doing them in Israel and among the other nations even until today. So you have ·become well known [L made yourself a name]. 21 You brought your people, the Israelites, out of Egypt using signs and miracles and your ·great power [L strong hand] and ·strength [L outstretched arm]. You brought great terror on everyone. 22 You gave them this land that you promised to their ·ancestors [fathers] long ago, a ·fertile land [land flowing with milk and honey; Gen. 12:1–3]. 23 They came into this land and ·took it for their own [possessed it], but they did not ·obey you [L listen to your voice] or follow your ·teachings [laws; instructions]. They did not do everything you commanded. So you made all these terrible things happen to them.
24 “Look! The ·enemy has surrounded the city and has built roads to the top of the walls [L siege ramps have come to the city] to capture it. Because of ·war [L sword], ·hunger [famine], and ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence], the city will be handed over to the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans] who are attacking it. You said this would happen, and now you see it is happening. 25 But now, Lord God, you tell me, ‘Buy the field with silver and call in witnesses.’ You tell me this while the ·Babylonian army is ready to capture the city [L city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans].”
26 Then the Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah: 27 “I am the Lord, the God of ·every person on the earth [L all flesh]. ·Nothing is impossible [L Is anything too hard…?] for me. 28 So this is what the Lord says: I ·will soon hand over the city of Jerusalem to [L am giving this city into the hand of] the ·Babylonian army [L Chaldeans] and ·to [L into the hand of] Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. 29 The ·Babylonian army [L Chaldeans] is already attacking this city [C Jerusalem]. They will soon enter it and start a fire to burn down the city and its houses. The people of Jerusalem ·offered sacrifices [or burned incense] to Baal [C the chief God of the Canaanites] on the roofs [C flat roofs were living space] of those same houses and poured out drink offerings to other idols to make me angry. 30 From their youth, the ·people [L sons] of Israel and Judah have done only ·the things I said were wrong [L evil] in my eyes. They have made me angry by ·worshiping idols made with [L the works of] their own hands,” says the Lord. 31 “From the day this city was built until now, this city has made me angry, so angry that I must remove it from ·my sight [before me]. 32 I will destroy it, because of all the evil the ·people [L sons] of Israel and Judah have done. The people, their kings and officers, their priests and prophets, all the people of Judah, and the people of Jerusalem have made me angry. 33 They turned their backs to me, not their faces. I tried to teach them again and again, but they wouldn’t listen or ·learn [L receive instruction/discipline]. 34 They put their ·hateful idols [abominations] in the ·place where I have chosen to be worshiped [L house called by my name], so they made it unclean [C in a ritual sense]. 35 In the Valley of Ben Hinnom they built ·places to worship [L high places of; C sites associated with pagan worship or inappropriate worship of God] Baal so they could ·burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices [L make their sons and daughters pass through (the fire)] to Molech. But I never commanded them to do such a ·hateful thing [abomination]. It never entered my ·mind [heart] that they would do such a thing and cause Judah to sin [7:30–34; 19:1–6].
36 “You are saying, ‘Because of ·war [L sword], ·hunger [famine], and ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence], the city will be handed over to the king of Babylon.’ But the Lord, the God of Israel, says about this city [C Jerusalem]: 37 I ·forced them [drove them out] from their land, because I was furious and very angry with them. But soon I will gather them from all the lands where I ·forced them to go [drove them out], and I will ·bring them back [restore them] to this place, where they may live in ·safety [confidence]. 38 They [C people of Israel and Judah] will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will ·make them truly want to be one people with one goal [L give them one heart and one way/path]. They will truly want to ·worship [L fear] me all their ·lives [L days], for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
40 “I will ·make [L cut] an ·agreement with them that will last forever [L eternal covenant with them; 31:31–34; Is. 55:3; 61:8; Ezek. 16:60; 37:27]. I will never turn away from them; I will always do good to them. I will ·make them want to respect me [L place my fear in their hearts] so they will never ·turn away [depart] from me. 41 I will enjoy doing good to them. And with ·my whole being [L all my heart and all my soul] I will ·surely [L in faithfulness] plant them in this land.”
42 This is what the Lord says: “I have brought this great ·disaster [harm; trouble] to this people [C the people of Israel and Judah]. In the same way I will bring the good things that I promise to do for them. 43 You are saying, ‘This land is an ·empty desert [desolation], without people or animals. It has been handed over to the ·Babylonians [L Chaldeans].’ But in the future, people will again buy fields in this land. 44 They will use their ·money [silver] to buy fields. They will ·sign [L write] and seal their ·agreements [scrolls] and call in witnesses. They will again buy fields in the land of Benjamin, in the area around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the mountains, in the ·western hills [L Shephelah], and in ·southern Judah [L the Negev]. I will ·make everything as good for them as it once was [restore their fortunes],” says the Lord.
Jeremiah 32
New King James Version
Jeremiah Buys a Field
32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (A)in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up (B)in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you (C)prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: (D)“Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 4 and Zedekiah king of Judah (E)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 [a]face to face, and see him (F)eye to eye; 5 then he shall (G)lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall be (H)until I visit him,” says the Lord; (I)“though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed” ’?”
6 And 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 (J)right of redemption is yours to buy it.” ’ 8 Then 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. 9 So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and (K)weighed out to him the money—seventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I signed the [b]deed and sealed it, took witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales. 11 So I took the purchase deed, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open; 12 and I gave the purchase deed to (L)Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the (M)witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.
13 “Then I charged (N)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.” 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses and fields and vineyards shall be (O)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, (P)You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. (Q)There is nothing too [c]hard for You. 18 You show (R)lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, (S)the Mighty God, whose name is (T)the Lord of hosts. 19 You are (U)great in counsel and mighty in [d]work, for Your (V)eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, (W)to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. 20 You 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 (X)a name, as it is this day. 21 You (Y)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; 22 You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—(Z)“a land flowing with milk and honey.” 23 And they came in and took possession of it, but (AA)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 (AB)the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it! 25 And 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
26 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the (AC)God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? 28 Therefore 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. 29 And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and (AD)set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses (AE)on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger; 30 because the children of Israel and the children of Judah (AF)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; (AG)so I will remove it from before My face 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger—(AH)they, their kings, their princes, their priests, (AI)their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 And they have turned to Me the (AJ)back, and not the face; though I taught them, (AK)rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction. 34 But they (AL)set their abominations in [e]the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 35 And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to (AM)cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to (AN)Molech, (AO)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: 37 Behold, I will (AP)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 (AQ)to dwell safely. 38 They shall be (AR)My people, and I will be their God; 39 then I will (AS)give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. 40 And (AT)I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but (AU)I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. 41 Yes, (AV)I will rejoice over them to do them good, and (AW)I will [f]assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’
42 “For thus says the Lord: (AX)‘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. 43 And fields will be bought in this land (AY)of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.” 44 Men will buy fields for money, sign deeds and seal them, and take witnesses, in (AZ)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 [g]lowland, and in the cities of the [h]South; for (BA)I will cause their captives to return,’ says the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 32:4 Lit. mouth to mouth
- Jeremiah 32:10 Lit. book
- Jeremiah 32:17 difficult
- Jeremiah 32:19 deed
- Jeremiah 32:34 The temple
- Jeremiah 32:41 truly
- Jeremiah 32:44 Heb. shephelah
- Jeremiah 32:44 Heb. Negev
Jeremiah 32
English Standard Version
Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege
32 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord (A)in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, (B)which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet (C)was shut up in (D)the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: (E)Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 (F)Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, (G)but shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 And (H)he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. (I)Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”
6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, (J)‘Buy my field that is at (K)Anathoth, (L)for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ 8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in (M)the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at (N)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
9 “And I bought the field at (O)Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and (P)weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 (Q)I signed the deed, (R)sealed it, (S)got witnesses, and (T)weighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. 12 And I gave the deed of purchase to (U)Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of (V)the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in (W)the court of the guard. 13 I charged (X)Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and (Y)fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’
Jeremiah Prays for Understanding
16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to (Z)Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord God! It is (AA)you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by (AB)your outstretched arm! (AC)Nothing is too hard for you. 18 (AD)You show steadfast love to thousands, (AE)but you repay the guilt of fathers (AF)to their children after them, O great and (AG)mighty God, whose name is the (AH)Lord of hosts, 19 (AI)great in counsel and (AJ)mighty in deed, (AK)whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, (AL)rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown (AM)signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, (AN)and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 (AO)You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and (AP)outstretched arm, (AQ)and with great terror. 22 And you gave them this land, (AR)which you swore to their fathers to give them, (AS)a land flowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. (AT)But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. 24 Behold, (AU)the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and (AV)because of sword and famine and pestilence (AW)the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. 25 Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, (AX)“Buy the field for money (AY)and get witnesses”—though (AZ)the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”
26 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, (BA)the God of all flesh. (BB)Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: (BC)Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city (BD)shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, (BE)with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal (BF)and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, (BG)to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight (BH)from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but (BI)provoke me to anger (BJ)by the work of their hands, declares the Lord. 31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, (BK)so that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—(BL)their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 (BM)They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them (BN)persistently, they have not listened (BO)to receive instruction. 34 They set up (BP)their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal (BQ)in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, (BR)to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, (BS)though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do (BT)this abomination, (BU)to cause Judah to sin.
They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God
36 “Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, (BV)‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: 37 (BW)Behold, I will gather them from all the countries (BX)to which I drove them in (BY)my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, (BZ)and I will make them dwell in safety. 38 (CA)And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 (CB)I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, (CC)for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 (CD)I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. (CE)And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 (CF)I will rejoice in doing them good, (CG)and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
42 “For thus says the Lord: (CH)Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. 43 (CI)Fields shall be bought in this land (CJ)of which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; (CK)it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and (CL)deeds shall be signed and (CM)sealed and (CN)witnessed, (CO)in the land of Benjamin, (CP)in the places about Jerusalem, (CQ)and in the cities of Judah, (CR)in the cities of the hill country, (CS)in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for (CT)I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
