¶ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the¹ tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth² year of Nebuchadrezzar.

For then³ the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah⁴ the prophet was shut up in the⁵ court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.

For Zedekiah⁶ king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore⁷ dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold,⁸ I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

⁹And 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;

And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until¹⁰ I visit him, saith the LORD: though¹¹ ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.

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

Behold,¹² Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth¹³: for¹⁴ the right of redemption is thine to buy it.

So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court¹⁵ of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth¹⁶, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I¹⁷ knew that this¹⁸ was the word of the LORD.

And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed¹⁹ him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver²⁰.

¶ And I²¹ subscribed the evidence²², and sealed²³ it, and took²⁴ witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.

So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according²⁵ to the law and custom, and that which was open:

And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch²⁶ the son of Neriah²⁷, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in²⁸ the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

And I charged Baruch before them, saying,

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take²⁹ 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.

For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses³⁰ and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

¶ Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed³¹ unto the LORD, saying,

Ah³² Lord GOD! behold, thou³³ hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there³⁴ is nothing too hard for thee:

Thou shewest³⁶ lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest³⁷ the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great³⁸, the Mighty God, the LORD³⁹ of hosts, is his name,

Great⁴⁰ in counsel, and mighty in work⁴¹: for⁴² thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give⁴³ every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

¶ Which hast set⁴⁴ signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast⁴⁵ made thee a name, as at this day;

And hast brought⁴⁶ forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong⁴⁷ hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;

And hast given them this land, which⁴⁸ thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land⁴⁹ flowing with milk and honey;

And they came in, and possessed⁵⁰ it; but⁵¹ they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have⁵² done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore⁵³ thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:

Behold the mounts⁵⁴, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is⁵⁵ given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because⁵⁶ of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what⁵⁷ thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.

And thou⁵⁸ hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for⁵⁹ money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

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

Behold, I am the LORD, the God⁶⁰ of all flesh: is⁶¹ there any thing too hard for me?

Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold,⁶² 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:

And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set⁶³ fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon⁶⁴ whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.

¶ For the children⁶⁵ of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from⁶⁶ their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD.

For this city⁶⁷ hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger⁶⁸ and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,

Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they⁶⁹ 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.

And they have turned⁷⁰ unto me the back⁷¹, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.

⁷²But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.

And they built⁷³ the high places of Baal, which⁷⁴ are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause⁷⁵ 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.

And now⁷⁶ therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It⁷⁷ shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;

Behold, I will gather⁷⁸ 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 cause⁷⁹ them to dwell safely:

⁸⁰And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:

And I⁸¹ will give them one heart, and one way⁸², that they may⁸³ fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:

¶ And I will make⁸⁵ an everlasting covenant with them, that I⁸⁶ will not turn away from them⁸⁷, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

Yea, I⁸⁸ will rejoice over them to do them good, and I⁸⁹ will plant them in this land assuredly⁹⁰ with my whole heart and with my whole soul.

For thus saith the LORD; Like⁹¹ as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so⁹² will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

⁹³And 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.

Men shall buy⁹⁴ fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land⁹⁵ 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 I⁹⁶ will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.