Jeremiah 32

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which wasthe eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.	1 This message came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah, king of Judah, the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah wasconfined in the Court of the Guard in the king of Judah's palace,	2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was imprisoned in the quarters of the guard, at the king's palace.
3 where Zedekiah king of Judah had confined him, saying, 'Why do you keep prophesying like this,"Yahweh says this: I am going to hand this city over to the king of Babylon and he wil capture it;	3 Zedekiah, king of Judah, had imprisoned him there, remonstrating: "How dare you prophesy: Thus says the LORD: I am handing over this city to the king of Babylon, who will capture it.
4 and Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the clutches of the Chaldaeans, but will certainly behanded over to the king of Babylon, speak to him personally and see him face to face.	4 Neither shall Zedekiah, king of Judah, escape the hands of the Chaldeans; rather shall he be handed over to the king of Babylon. They shall meet and speak face to face,
5 He wil take Zedekiah away to Babylon and there he wil stay (until I attend to him, Yahweh declares. Ifyou fight the Chaldaeans you will not succeed!)" '	5 and Zedekiah shall be taken to Babylon. There he shall remain, until I attend to him, says the LORD; in fighting the Chaldeans, you cannot win!"
6 Jeremiah said, 'The word of Yahweh has been addressed to me as fol ows,	6 This message came to me from the LORD, said Jeremiah:
7 "Look, Hanamel the son of your uncle Shal um wil come to you and say: Buy my field at Anathoth, foryou have the right of redemption to purchase it."	7 Hanamel, son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you with the offer: "Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth, since you, as nearest relative, have the first right of purchase."
8 And, as Yahweh had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me, in the Court of the Guard and said, "Buymy field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin, for you have the right of inheritance and right of redemption; buyit." I knew then that this was Yahweh's order.	8 Then, as the LORD foretold, Hanamel, my uncle's son, came to me to the quarters of the guard and said, "Please buy my field in Anathoth, in the district of Benjamin; as nearest relative, you have the first claim to possess it; make it yours." I knew this was what the LORD meant,
9 Accordingly, I bought the field from my cousin Hanamel of Anathoth and weighed him out the money:seventeen silver shekels.	9 so I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, paying him the money, seventeen silver shekels.
10 I drew up the deeds and sealed it, cal ed in witnesses and weighed out the money on the scales.	10 When I had written and sealed the deed, called witnesses and weighed out the silver on the scales,
11 I then took both the sealed deed of purchase (with its stipulations and clauses) and its open copy	11 I accepted the deed of purchase, both the sealed copy, containing title and conditions, and the open one.
12 and handed over the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence ofmy cousin Hanamel, of the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and of al the Judaeans who thenhappened to be in the Court of the Guard.	12 This deed of purchase I gave to Baruch, son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed, and before all the men of Judah who happened to be in the quarters of the guard.
13 In their presence I gave Baruch this order,	13 In their presence I gave Baruch this charge:
14 "Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says this: Take these deeds, the sealed deed of purchase and itsopen copy, and put them in an earthenware pot, so that they may be preserved for a long time.	14 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both the sealed and the open deed of purchase, and put them in an earthen jar, so that they can be kept there a long time.
15 For Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says this: Houses, fields and vineyards wil again be bought inthis country."	15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
16 'After I had entrusted the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to Yahweh as fol ows,	16 After giving the deed of purchase to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed thus to the LORD:
17 "Ah, Lord Yahweh, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.To you nothing is impossible.	17 Ah, Lord GOD, you have made heaven and earth by your great might, with your outstretched arm; nothing is impossible to you.
18 You show faithful love to thousands but repay the fathers' guilt in full to their children after them. Greatand mighty God, whose name is Yahweh Sabaoth,	18 You continue your kindness through a thousand generations; and you repay the fathers' guilt, even into the lap of their sons who follow them. O God, great and mighty, whose name is LORD of hosts,
19 great in purpose, mighty in deed, whose eyes are open on al human ways, rewarding every individualas that person's ways and actions deserve!	19 great in counsel, mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of men, giving to each according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds:
20 You performed signs and wonders in Egypt, as you stil do in Israel and among humanity today. Youhave won the name for yourself which is yours today.	20 you have wrought signs and wonders in the land of Egypt and to this day, both in Israel and among all other men, until now you have gained renown.
21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, with mighty hand andoutstretched arm and fearsome terror.	21 With strong hand and outstretched arm you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt amid signs and wonders and great terror.
22 Then you gave them this country which you had promised on oath to their ancestors, a countryflowing with milk and honey.	22 This land you gave them, as you had promised their fathers under oath, a land flowing with milk and honey.
23 They then entered it, taking possession of it, but they would not listen to your voice nor follow yourLaw: they would do nothing you ordered them to do; and so you made this total disaster befall them.	23 They entered and took possession of it, but they did not listen to your voice; by your law they did not live, and what you commanded they failed to do. Hence you let all these evils befall them.
24 Look! The earthworks are already in place to take the city and, by means of sword, famine andplague, the city is now within the clutches of the Chaldaeans attacking it. What you said has now come true, asyou see.	24 See, the siegeworks have arrived at this city to breach it; the city will be handed over to the Chaldeans who are attacking it, amid sword, famine, and pestilence. What you threatened has happened, you see it yourself;
25 Yet you yourself, Lord Yahweh, told me: Buy the field, pay for it, have it witnessed although the city isalready in the Chaldaeans' clutches." '	25 and yet you tell me, O Lord GOD: Buy the field with money, call in witnesses. But the city has already been handed over to the Chaldeans!
26 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fol ows,	26 Then this word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
27 'Look, I am Yahweh, God of al humanity. Is anything impossible to me?	27 I am the LORD, the God of all mankind! Is anything impossible to me?
28 'So, Yahweh says this, "I shal hand this city over to the Chaldaeans and to Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon, and he wil capture it;	28 This now is what the LORD says: I will hand over this city to the Chaldeans, for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to take.
29 the Chaldaeans attacking this city wil enter it, fire it and burn it to the ground, with the houses onwhose roofs incense has been offered to Baal and libations poured to other gods, to provoke my anger.	29 The Chaldeans who are attacking it shall enter this city and set fire to it, burning it and its houses, on the roofs of which incense was burned to Baal and libations were poured out to strange gods as a provocation to me.
30 For the people of Israel and Judah alike have done nothing but what displeases me since they wereyoung. (The people of Israel in fact have done nothing but provoke my anger by their actions, Yahweh declares.)	30 The Israelites and the Judeans from their youth have done only what is evil in my eyes; the Israelites did nothing but provoke me with the works of their hands, says the LORD.
31 Yes, from the day when this city was built until today, it has been such cause of anger and wrath tome that I mean to remove it from my sight,	31 From the day it was built to this day, this city has excited my anger and wrath,
32 on account of al the wickedness the people of Israel and the people of Judah have done to provokemy anger; they, their kings, their chief men, their priests, their prophets, the people of Judah and the inhabitantsof Jerusalem.	32 so that I must put it out of my sight for all the wickedness the Israelites and Judeans, with their kings and their princes, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, have done to provoke me.
33 They turned to me their backs, never their faces; and though I taught them so urgently, so untiringly,they would not listen and accept correction.	33 They turned their backs to me, not their faces; though I kept teaching them, they would not listen to my correction.
34 Instead, they set up their Horrors in the Temple that bears my name to defile it,	34 They defiled the house named after me by the horrid idols they set up in it.
35 and built the high places of Baal in the Val ey of Ben-Hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters alivein honour of Molech: a thing I have never ordered, that had never entered my thoughts -- that they would causeJudah to sin by anything so loathsome!	35 They built high places to Baal in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and immolated their sons and daughters to Molech, bringing sin upon Judah; this I never commanded them, nor did it even enter my mind that they should practice such abominations.
36 "So now, this is what Yahweh, God of Israel, says about this city of which you now say: By means ofsword, famine and plague, it is already within the king of Babylon's clutches:	36 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, which as you say is handed over to the king of Babylon amid sword, famine, and pestilence:
37 Look, I shall gather them in from al the countries where I have driven them in my anger, my fury andgreat wrath. I shal bring them back to this place and make them live in safety.	37 Behold, I will gather them together from all the lands to which in anger, wrath, and great rage I banish them; I will bring them back to this place and settle them here in safety.
38 Then they will be my people, and I shall be their God.	38 They shall be my people, and I will be their God.
39 I shal give them singleness of heart and singleness of conduct so that they wil always fear me, fortheir own good and that of their children after them.	39 One heart and one way I will give them, that they may fear me always, to their own good and that of their children after them.
40 I shal make an everlasting covenant with them, never to cease in my efforts for their welfare, and Ishall put respect for me in their hearts, so that they wil never turn away from me again.	40 I will make with them an eternal covenant, never to cease doing good to them; into their hearts I will put the fear of me, that they may never depart from me.
41 My joy wil lie in them and in doing them good, and I shal plant them firmly in this country, with al myheart and soul.	41 I will take delight in doing good to them: I will replant them firmly in this land, with all my heart and soul.
42 For Yahweh says this: Just as I have brought this complete and total disaster on this people, so I shalbring them al the good things I have promised them.	42 For thus says the LORD: Just as I brought upon this people all this great evil, so I will bring upon them all the good I promise them.
43 Fields wil again be bought in this country of which you now say: It is a wasteland without human oranimal, already in the clutches of the Chaldaeans.	43 Fields shall again be bought in this land, which you call a desert, without man or beast, handed over to the Chaldeans.
44 People wil buy fields, pay money, draw up deeds, seal them and have them witnessed in the territoryof Benjamin, in the districts round Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, of the highlands, of the lowlands and of theNegeb. For I shal bring back their captives, Yahweh declares." '	44 Fields shall be bought with money, deeds written and sealed, and witnesses shall be used in the land of Benjamin, in the suburbs of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah and of the hill country, in the cities of the foothills and of the Negeb, when I change their lot, says the LORD.