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Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

The word that came to Jeremiah from the L ord in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. ²At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, ³where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, “Why do you prophesy and say: Thus says the L ord: I am going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; ⁴King Zedekiah of Judah shall not escape out of the hands of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye; ⁵and he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I attend to him, says the L ord; though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed?”

⁶ Jeremiah said, The word of the L ord came to me: ⁷Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.” ⁸Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the L ord, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at 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 L ord.

⁹ And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. ¹⁰I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. ¹¹Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; ¹²and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. ¹³In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, ¹⁴Thus says the L ord 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 jar, in order that they may last for a long time. ¹⁵For thus says the L ord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

¹⁶ After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the L ord, saying: ¹⁷Ah Lord G od! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. ¹⁸You show steadfast love to the thousandth generation, but repay the guilt of parents into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the L ord of hosts, ¹⁹great in counsel and mighty in deed; whose eyes are open to all the ways of mortals, rewarding all according to their ways and according to the fruit of their doings. ²⁰You showed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all humankind, and have made yourself a name that continues to this very day. ²¹You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²²and you gave them this land, which you swore to their ancestors to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; ²³and they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or follow your law; of all you commanded them to do, they did nothing. Therefore you have made all these disasters come upon them. ²⁴See, the siege ramps have been cast up against the city to take it, and the city, faced with sword, famine, and pestilence, has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has happened, as you yourself can see. ²⁵Yet you, O Lord G od, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

God’s Assurance of the People’s Return

²⁶ The word of the L ord came to Jeremiah: ²⁷See, I am the L ord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? ²⁸Therefore, thus says the L ord: I am going to give this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall take it. ²⁹The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come, set it on fire, and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and libations have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. ³⁰For the people of Israel and the people of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; the people of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, says the L ord. ³¹This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built until this day, so that I will remove it from my sight ³²because of all the evil of the people of Israel and the people of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the citizens of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³³They have turned their backs to me, not their faces; though I have taught them persistently, they would not listen and accept correction. ³⁴They set up their abominations in the house that bears my name, and defiled it. ³⁵They built the high places of Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter my mind that they should do this abomination, causing Judah to sin.

³⁶ Now therefore thus says the L ord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, “It is being given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence”: ³⁷See, I am going to gather them from all the lands to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation; I will bring them back to this place, and I will settle them in safety. ³⁸They shall be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for all time, for their own good and the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to draw back from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, so that they may not turn from me. ⁴¹I will rejoice in doing good to them, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

⁴² For thus says the L ord: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good fortune that I now promise them. ⁴³Fields shall be bought in this land of which you are saying, It is a desolation, without human beings or animals; it has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans. ⁴⁴Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, of the hill country, of the Shephelah, and of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, says the L ord.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Prophet adds, that he wrote a book, that is, the writing of the purchase; for ספר sepher, means in Hebrew, not only a volume, but what we call a document, and the Latins tablets, (tabulas) Then he says that the writing of the purchase was made, and then it was sealed, not as we do by appending a seal to it, but it was closed up, as the custom then was. He also adds, according to the law and custom; and at last he says that another writing was made which remained open; and it is thought that the open writing means what we call a copy; and so the sealed writing was deposited in a chest, and the open copy could be referred to at any time. ⁶²⁶² There were no doubt two rolls or writings, as it appears clear from Jeremiah 32:14, where the two are distinctly mentioned, “Take these rolls, this roll of the purchase, even the sealed, and this open roll,” etc. The word ספר ought to be rendered throughout either a roll, or a book, or writing, when preceded by an article, and not “evidence,” as in our version.
There seems to be an incongruity in verse the 10^th (Jeremiah 32:10), as rendered by most; the roll is represented as “sealed,” before the “witnesses” are mentioned, and before the money was weighed. The rendering, I conceive, ought to be as follows, “So I wrote in a roll; and I sealed it, when I had made witnesses to witness it, and weighed the money in balances.” The ו may often be rendered “when,” and also “so,” as it is done in the next verse in our version, though there “and” would be more suitable. The “witnesses” are expressly said in ver. 12 (Jeremiah 32:12) to have subscribed, or written in, the book or roll of purchase, which was sealed. — Ed Though the Prophet alludes to a common custom, yet I doubt not but that he wrote this prophecy on rolls, one sealed and the other open, in order that those who were then living might receive some benefit from his doctrine, and also that the authentic copy, or the original itself, might remain for posterity, as we shall hereafter see. And doubtless God not only intended to strengthen the hope of the faithful after the completed time of exile, as this prophecy would he dormant for seventy years; but he designed also that it should be then of use, so as to be a support to them in their sufferings. There was also another benefit to be derived from this prophecy, even that the Jews while in exile might begin to entertain hope, and remembering this vision, might feel assured that God would be their Deliverer, according to what he had promised.

This then was the reason why two writings of the purchase were made, the sealed and the open. ⁶³⁶³     The 11th verse (Jeremiah 32:11), where the two rolls are first mentioned, is difficult to be rendered. I offer the following literal version of the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th, —
   11. And I took the writing of the purchase, — it the sealed, the commandment and the conditions, — and it the open; and I gave the writing of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah,
   12. The son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel my uncle’s son, and in the sight of the witnesses who wrote in the roll of the purchase, and in sight of all the Jews who
   13. sat in the court of the prison; and I commanded Baruch in their sight,
   14. saying, “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Take these rolls, — this roll of the purchase, even it the sealed, and this open roll; and put them in au earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.’”
   The two rolls are called “the writing of the purchase” in ver. 11, but distinguished, one being “sealed,” and the other “open,” or unsealed. The sealed contained “the commandment,” that is, to purchase, and “the conditions,” literally “ordinances;” which Blayney renders, “the assignment and the limitations,” and the Vulg., “the stipulations and ratifications.” But מצוה never means anything but a precept or a commandment, and חקים are things defined, settled, or appointed, and may be rendered “stipulations.” Thus the contents of the sealed roll are specified, but those of the open roll are not expressly mentioned. — Ed. The open had a present benefit, as it would make the faithful to go more willingly into exile, and calmly to submit to the chastisement allotted to them by God; and for this reason the Prophecy was to be open to all. It was also sealed, in order that after the lapse of seventy years it might animate the godly, and inspire them with the hope of their promised deliverance. This, therefore, is the reason, as I think, why the Prophet relates that he made a writing and sealed it, and then that he made another writing which remained open.

⁶² There were no doubt two rolls or writings, as it appears clear from Jeremiah 32:14, where the two are distinctly mentioned, “Take these rolls, this roll of the purchase, even the sealed, and this open roll,” etc. The word ספר ought to be rendered throughout either a roll, or a book, or writing, when preceded by an article, and not “evidence,” as in our version. There seems to be an incongruity in verse the 10th (Jeremiah 32:10), as rendered by most; the roll is represented as “sealed,” before the “witnesses” are mentioned, and before the money was weighed. The rendering, I conceive, ought to be as follows, “So I wrote in a roll; and I sealed it, when I had made witnesses to witness it, and weighed the money in balances.” The ו may often be rendered “when,” and also “so,” as it is done in the next verse in our version, though there “and” would be more suitable. The “witnesses” are expressly said in ver. 12 (Jeremiah 32:12) to have subscribed, or written in, the book or roll of purchase, which was sealed. — Ed

⁶³ The 11th verse (Jeremiah 32:11), where the two rolls are first mentioned, is difficult to be rendered. I offer the following literal version of the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th, — 11. And I took the writing of the purchase, — it the sealed, the commandment and the conditions, — and it the open; and I gave the writing of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, 12. The son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel my uncle’s son, and in the sight of the witnesses who wrote in the roll of the purchase, and in sight of all the Jews who 13. sat in the court of the prison; and I commanded Baruch in their sight, 14. saying, “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Take these rolls, — this roll of the purchase, even it the sealed, and this open roll; and put them in au earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.’” The two rolls are called “the writing of the purchase” in ver. 11, but distinguished, one being “sealed,” and the other “open,” or unsealed. The sealed contained “the commandment,” that is, to purchase, and “the conditions,” literally “ordinances;” which Blayney renders, “the assignment and the limitations,” and the Vulg., “the stipulations and ratifications.” But מצוה never means anything but a precept or a commandment, and חקים are things defined, settled, or appointed, and may be rendered “stipulations.” Thus the contents of the sealed roll are specified, but those of the open roll are not expressly mentioned. — Ed.