Yeremia 32:6-17

32:6 So now, Jeremiah said, “The Lord told me, ¹  32:7 ‘Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you soon. He will say to you, “Buy my field at Anathoth because you are entitled ²  as my closest relative to buy it.”’ ³  32:8 Now it happened just as the Lord had said! My cousin Hanamel ⁴  came to me in the courtyard of the guardhouse. He said to me, ‘Buy my field which is at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Buy it for yourself since you are entitled as my closest relative to take possession of it for yourself.’ When this happened, I recognized that the Lord had indeed spoken to me. 32:9 So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver and gave it to him to pay for it. ⁵  32:10 I signed the deed of purchase, ⁶  sealed it, and had some men serve as witnesses to the purchase. ⁷  I weighed out the silver for him on a scale. 32:11 There were two copies of the deed of purchase. One was sealed and contained the order of transfer and the conditions of purchase. ⁸  The other was left unsealed. 32:12 I took both copies of the deed of purchase ⁹  and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence ¹⁰  of my cousin ¹¹  Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse. 32:13 In the presence of all these people I instructed Baruch, 32:14 ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹²  says, “Take these documents, both the sealed copy of the deed of purchase and the unsealed copy. Put them in a clay jar so that they may be preserved for a long time to come.”’ ¹³  32:15 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹⁴  says, “Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land.”’ ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah’s Prayer of Praise and Bewilderment

32:16 “After I had given the copies of the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, 32:17 ‘Oh, Lord God, ¹⁶  you did indeed ¹⁷  make heaven and earth by your mighty power and great strength. ¹⁸  Nothing is too hard for you!

Yeremia 32:24-29

32:24 Even now siege ramps have been built up around the city ¹⁹  in order to capture it. War, ²⁰  starvation, and disease are sure to make the city fall into the hands of the Babylonians ²¹  who are attacking it. ²²  Lord, ²³  you threatened that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already taking place. ²⁴  32:25 The city is sure to fall into the hands of the Babylonians. ²⁵  Yet, in spite of this, ²⁶  you, Lord God, ²⁷  have said to me, “Buy that field with silver and have the transaction legally witnessed.”’” ²⁸ 

The Lord Answers Jeremiah’s Prayer

32:26 The Lord answered Jeremiah. ²⁹  32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me. ³⁰  32:28 Therefore I, the Lord, say: ³¹  ‘I will indeed hand ³²  this city over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonian army. ³³  They will capture it. 32:29 The Babylonian soldiers ³⁴  that are attacking this city will break into it and set it on fire. They will burn it down along with the houses where people have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods on their rooftops. ³⁵ 

Yeremia 32:42-44

32:42 “For I, the Lord, say: ³⁶  ‘I will surely bring on these people all the good fortune that I am hereby promising them. I will be just as sure to do that as I have been in bringing all this great disaster on them. ³⁷  32:43 You and your people ³⁸  are saying that this land will become desolate, uninhabited by either people or animals. You are saying that it will be handed over to the Babylonians. ³⁹  But fields ⁴⁰  will again be bought in this land. ⁴¹  32:44 Fields will again be bought with silver, and deeds of purchase signed, sealed, and witnessed. This will happen in the territory of Benjamin, the villages surrounding Jerusalem, the towns in Judah, the southern hill country, the western foothills, and southern Judah. ⁴²  For I will restore them to their land. ⁴³  I, the Lord, affirm it!’” ⁴⁴ 

[32:6]  ¹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord came to me, saying.” This verse resumes the narrative introduction in v. 1 which was interrupted by the long parenthetical note about historical background. There is again some disjunction in the narrative (compare the translator’s notes on 27:2 and 28:1). What was begun as a biographical (third person) narrative turns into an autobiographical (first person) narrative until v. 26 where the third person is again resumed. Again this betrays the hand of the narrator, Baruch.

[32:7]  ² tn Heb “your right.” The term מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat) here and in v. 8 refers to legal entitlement for the option to purchase a property (BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 5; cf. Deut 21:17).

[32:7]  ³ sn Underlying this request are the laws of redemption of property spelled out in Lev 25:25-34 and illustrated in Ruth 4:3-4. Under these laws, if a property owner became impoverished and had to sell his land, the nearest male relative had the right and duty to buy it so that it would not pass out of the use of the extended family. The land, however, would not actually belong to Jeremiah because in the year of Jubilee it reverted to its original owner. All Jeremiah was actually buying was the right to use it (Lev 25:13-17). Buying the field, thus, did not make any sense (thus Jeremiah’s complaint in v. 25) other than the fact that the Lord intended to use Jeremiah’s act as a symbol of a restored future in the land.

[32:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “And according to the word of the Lord my cousin Hanamel came to me to the courtyard of the guardhouse and said, ‘…’” The sentence has been broken down to conform better with contemporary English style.

[32:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “I weighed out the money [more literally, “silver”] for him, seventeen shekels of silver.”

[32:9]  sn Coins were not in common use until the postexilic period. Payment in gold and silver was made by cutting off pieces of silver or gold and weighing them in a beam balance using standard weights as the measure. A shekel weighed approximately 0.4 ounce or 11.4 grams. The English equivalents are only approximations.

[32:10]  ⁶ tn The words “of purchase” are not in the text but are implicit. The qualification is spelled out explicitly in vv. 11, 12, 13. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity. An alternative translation would be “I put the deed in writing.” However, since the same idiom כָּתַב בְּסֵפֶר (catav bÿsefer) is used later in v. 12 with respect to the witnesses, it is likely that it merely refers to signing the document.

[32:10]  ⁷ tn The words “to the purchase” are not in the text but are implicit in the idiom “I had some witnesses serve as witness.” The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:11]  ⁸ tn There is some uncertainty about the precise meaning of the phrases translated “the order of transfer and the regulations.” The translation follows the interpretation suggested by J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 237; J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 586, n. 5; and presumably BDB 349 s.v. חֹק 7, which defines the use of חֹק (khoq) here as “conditions of the deed of purchase.”

[32:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “the deed, the purchase.” This is a case of apposition of species in place of the genitive construction (cf. GKC 423 §131.b and compare the usage in Exod 24:5).

[32:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I took the deed of purchase, both that which was sealed [and contained] the order and the regulations and that which was open [i.e., unsealed], and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch…in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and in the presence of…and in the presence of….” It is awkward to begin a sentence with “I took…” without finishing the thought, and the long qualifiers in v. 12 make that sentence too long. The sentence is broken up in accordance with contemporary English style. The reference to the “deed of purchase” in v. 12 should be viewed as a plural consisting of both written and sealed copies as is clear from v. 11 and also v. 14. Part of the confusion is due to the nature of this document which consisted of a single papyrus scroll, half of which was rolled up and sealed and the other half which was left “opened” or unsealed. J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB], 237-38) is probably incorrect in assuming that the copies were duplicate since the qualification “containing the order of transfer and the regulations” is only applied to the appositional participle, “the sealed one [or copy].”

[32:12]  sn Aramaic documents from a slightly later period help us understand the nature of such deeds. The document consisted of a single papyrus sheet divided in half. One half contained all the particulars and was tightly rolled up, bound with strips of cloth or thread, sealed with wax upon which the parties affixed their seal, and signed by witnesses. The other copy consisted of an abstract and was left loosely rolled and unsealed (i.e., open to be consulted at will). If questions were raised about legality of the contract then the sealed copy could be unsealed and consulted.

[32:12]  ¹¹ tc The translation follows a number of Hebrew mss and the Greek and Syriac version in reading “the son of my uncles (= my cousin; בֶּן דֹּדִי, ben dodi).” The majority of Hebrew mss do not have the word “son of (בֶּן).”

[32:14]  ¹² tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study notes on 2:19.

[32:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “many days.” See BDB s.v. יוֹם 5.b for this usage.

[32:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Yahweh of armies, the God of Israel.” For this title see 7:3 and the study notes on 2:19.

[32:15]  ¹⁵ sn The significance of the symbolic act performed by Jeremiah as explained here was a further promise (see the “again” statements in 31:4, 5, 23 and the “no longer” statements in 31:12, 29, 34, 40) of future restoration beyond the destruction implied in vv. 3-5. After the interruption of exile, normal life of buying and selling of fields, etc. would again be resumed and former property rights would be recognized.

[32:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” For an explanation of the rendering here see the study note on 1:6.

[32:17]  sn The parallel usage of this introduction in Jer 1:6; 4:10; 14:13 shows that though this prayer has a lengthy introductory section of praise vv. 17-22, this prayer is really one of complaint or lament.

[32:17]  ¹⁷ tn This is an attempt to render the Hebrew particle normally translated “behold.” See the translator’s note on 1:6 for the usage of this particle.

[32:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by your great power and your outstretched arm.” See 21:5; 27:5 and the marginal note on 27:5 for this idiom.

[32:24]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Siege ramps have come up to the city to capture it.”

[32:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “sword.”

[32:24]  ²¹ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:24]  ²² tn Heb “And the city has been given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it because of the sword, starvation, and disease.” The verb “has been given” is one of those perfects that view the action as good as done (the perfect of certainty or prophetic perfect).

[32:24]  ²³ tn The word “Lord” is not in the text but is supplied in the translation as a reminder that it is he who is being addressed.

[32:24]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And what you said has happened and behold you see it.”

[32:25]  ²⁵ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:25]  ²⁶ tn Heb “And you, Lord Yahweh, have said to me, ‘Buy the field for…’ even though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians.” The sentence has been broken up and the order reversed for English stylistic purposes. For the rendering “is sure to fall into the hands of” see the translator’s note on the preceding verse.

[32:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Lord God.” For the rendering of this title see the study note on 1:6.

[32:25]  ²⁸ tn Heb “call in witnesses to witness.”

[32:26]  ²⁹ tn Heb “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying.”

[32:27]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” The question is rhetorical expecting an emphatic negative answer (cf. E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 949, citing the parallel in Gen 18:14). The Hebrew particle “Behold” (הִנֵּה, hinneh) introduces the grounds for this rhetorical negative (cf. T. O. Lambdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew, 170, §135 [3]), i.e., “Since I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, there is indeed nothing too hard for me [or is there anything too hard for me?].”

[32:27]  sn This statement furnishes the grounds both for the assurance that the city will indeed be delivered over to Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 28-29a) and that it will be restored and repopulated (vv. 37-41). This can be seen from the parallel introductions in vv. 28, “Therefore the Lord says” and “Now therefore the Lord says.” As the creator of all and God of all mankind he has the power and authority to do with his creation what he wishes (cf. Jer 27:5-6).

[32:28]  ³¹ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord.” However, the speech has already been introduced as first person. So the first person style has been retained for smoother narrative style.

[32:28]  ³² tn Heb “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of…”

[32:28]  ³³ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:29]  ³⁴ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:29]  ³⁵ sn Compare Jer 19:13.

[32:42]  ³⁶ tn Heb “For thus says the Lord.” See the translator’s notes on 32:27, 36.

[32:42]  ³⁷ tn Heb “As I have brought all this great disaster on these people so I will bring upon them all the good fortune which I am promising them.” The translation has broken down the longer Hebrew sentence to better conform to English style.

[32:42]  sn See the same guarantee in Jer 31:27.

[32:43]  ³⁸ tn Heb “you.” However, the pronoun is plural and is addressed to more than just Jeremiah (v. 26). It includes Jeremiah and those who have accepted his prophecy of doom.

[32:43]  ³⁹ tn Heb “The Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for further explanation.

[32:43]  ⁴⁰ tn The noun is singular with the article, but it is a case of the generic singular (cf. GKC 406 §126.m).

[32:43]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Fields will be bought in this land of which you [masc. pl.] are saying, ‘It will be desolate [a perfect of certainty or prophetic perfect] without man or beast; it will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’” The original sentence has been broken down to better conform to contemporary English style.

[32:44]  ⁴² tn Heb “They will buy fields with silver and write in the deed and seal [it] and have witnesses witness [it] in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the towns in Judah, in the towns in the hill country, in the towns in the Shephelah, and in the towns in the Negev.” The long Hebrew sentence has again been restructured to better conform to contemporary English style. The indefinite “they will buy” is treated as a passive. It is followed by three infinitive absolutes which substitute for the finite verb (cf. GKC 345 §113.y) which is a common feature of the style of the book of Jeremiah.

[32:44]  sn For the geographical districts mentioned here compare Jer 17:26.

[32:44]  ⁴³ tn Or “I will reverse their fortunes.” For this idiom see the translator’s note on 29:14 and compare the usage in 29:14; 30:3, 18; 31:23.

[32:44]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”