Jeremiah 32-36

Jeremiah 32

¹The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah -- it [is] the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar,

²And then the forces of the king of Babylon are laying siege against Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet hath been shut up in the court of the prison that [is] in the house of the king of Judah,

³Where Zedekiah king of Judah hath shut him up, saying, ‘Wherefore art thou prophesying, saying, Thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he hath captured it;

⁴And Zedekiah king of Judah doth not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but is certainly given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth hath spoken with his mouth, and his eyes see his eyes,

⁵And [to] Babylon he leadeth Zedekiah, and there he is till My inspecting him, -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- because ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye do not prosper.'

⁶And Jeremiah saith, ‘A word of Jehovah hath been unto me saying,

⁷Lo, Hanameel son of Shallum, thine uncle, is coming unto thee, saying, Buy for thee my field that [is] in Anathoth, for thine [is] the right of redemption -- to buy.

⁸And Hanameel, my uncle's son, cometh in unto me, according to the word of Jehovah, unto the court of the prison, and saith unto me, ‘Buy, I pray thee, my field that [is] in Anathoth, that [is] in the land of Benjamin, for thine [is] the right of possession, and thine of redemption -- buy for thee.' And I know that it [is] the word of Jehovah,

⁹And I buy the field, that [is] in Anathoth, from Hanameel, my uncle's son, and I weigh to him the money -- seventeen shekels of silver.

¹⁰And I write in a book, and seal, and cause witnesses to testify, and weigh the silver in balances;

¹¹And I take the purchase-book, the sealed one, according to law and custom, and the open one.

¹²And I give the purchase-book unto Baruch son of Neriah, son of Maaseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel, my uncle's son, and before the eyes of the witnesses, those writing in the purchase-book, before the eyes of all the Jews who are sitting in the court of the prison.

¹³And I charge Baruch before their eyes, saying,

¹⁴‘Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Take these books, this purchase-book, both the sealed one and the open one, and thou hast put them in an earthen vessel, that they may remain many days;

¹⁵For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Again are houses and fields and vineyards bought in this land.'

¹⁶And I pray unto Jehovah -- after my giving the purchase-book unto Baruch son of Neriah -- saying,

¹⁷‘Ah, Lord Jehovah, lo, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power, and by Thy stretched-out arm; there is nothing too wonderful for Thee:

¹⁸Doing kindness to thousands, and recompensing iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their sons after them; God, the great, the mighty, Jehovah of Hosts [is] His name,

¹⁹Great in counsel, and mighty in act, in that Thine eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of Adam, to give to each according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

²⁰In that thou hast done signs and wonders in the land of Egypt unto this day, and in Israel, and among men, and Thou dost make for Thee a name as [at] this day.

²¹‘And Thou bringest forth Thy people Israel from the land of Egypt, with signs and with wonders, and by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great fear,

²²And thou givest to them this land that thou didst swear to their fathers to give to them, a land flowing with milk and honey,

²³And they come in, and possess it, and they have not hearkened to Thy voice, and in Thy law have not walked, all that which Thou didst lay a charge on them to do they have not done, and Thou dost proclaim [to] them all this evil.

²⁴‘Lo, the mounts -- they have come in to the city to capture it, and the city hath been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it, because of the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence; and that which Thou hast spoken hath come to pass, and lo, Thou art seeing;

²⁵Yet Thou hast said unto me, O Lord Jehovah, Buy for thee the field with money, and cause witnesses to testify -- and the city hath been given into the hand of the Chaldeans!'

²⁶And the word of Jehovah is unto Jeremiah, saying:

²⁷‘Lo, I [am] Jehovah, God of all flesh: For Me is anything too wonderful?

²⁸‘Therefore, thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am giving this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath captured it;

²⁹And come in have the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city, and they have set this city on fire, and have burned it, and the houses on whose roofs they made perfume to Baal, and poured out libations to other gods, so as to provoke Me to anger.

³⁰For the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been only doing evil in Mine eyes, from their youth; for the sons of Israel are only provoking Me with the work of their hands -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

³¹‘For a cause of Mine anger, and a cause of My fury, hath this city been to Me, even from the day that they built it, and unto this day -- to turn it aside from before My face,

³²Because of all the evil of the sons of Israel, and of the sons of Judah that they have done, so as to provoke Me -- they, their kings, their heads, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

³³And they turn unto Me the neck, and not the face, and teaching them, rising early and teaching, and they are not hearkening to accept instruction.

³⁴‘And they set their abominations in the house over which My name is called, so as to defile it;

³⁵And they build the high places of Baal, that [are] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come up on my heart to do this abomination, so as to cause Judah to sin.

³⁶‘And now, therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, concerning this city, of which ye are saying, It hath been given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence,

³⁷Lo, I am gathering them out of all the lands whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath, and I have brought them back unto this place, and have caused them to dwell confidently;

³⁸and they have been to Me for a people, and I am to them for God;

³⁹and I have given to them one heart, and one way, to fear Me all the days, for good to them, and to their sons after them:

⁴⁰and I have made for them a covenant age-during, in that I turn not back from after them for My doing them good, and My fear I put in their heart, so as not to turn aside from me;

⁴¹and I have rejoiced over them to do them good, and have planted them in this land in truth, with all my heart, and with all My soul.

⁴²‘For thus said Jehovah: As I brought in unto this people all this great evil, so I am bringing in on them all the good that I am speaking concerning them;

⁴³and bought hath been the field in this land of which ye are saying, A desolation it [is], without man and beast, it hath been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

⁴⁴Fields with money they buy, so as to write in a book, and to seal, and to cause witnesses to testify, in the land of Benjamin, and in suburbs of Jerusalem, and in cities of Judah, and in cities of the hill-country, and in cities of the low country, and in cities of the south, for I turn back their captivity -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'

Jeremiah 33

¹And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah a second time -- and he [is] yet detained in the court of the prison -- saying:

²Thus said Jehovah its maker, Jehovah its former, at establishing it, Jehovah [is] His name:

³Call unto Me, and I do answer thee, yea, I declare to thee great and fenced things -- thou hast not known them.

⁴For thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, that are broken down for the mounts, and for the tool;

⁵they are coming in to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the carcases of men, whom I have smitten in Mine anger, and in My fury, and [for] whom I have hidden My face from this city, because of all their evil:

⁶Lo, I am increasing to it health and cure, And have healed them, and revealed to them The abundance of peace and truth.

⁷And I have turned back the captivity of Judah, And the captivity of Israel, And I have built them as at the first,

⁸And cleansed them from all their iniquity, That they have sinned against Me, And I have pardoned all their iniquities, That they have sinned against Me, And that they transgressed against Me.

⁹And it hath been to Me for a name of joy, For praise, and for beauty, to all nations of the earth, Who hear of all the good that I am doing them, And they have feared, And they have trembled for all the good, And for all the peace, that I am doing to it.

¹⁰Thus said Jehovah: Again heard in this place of which ye are saying, Waste it [is], without man and without beast, In cities of Judah, and in streets of Jerusalem, That are desolated, without man, And without inhabitant, and without beast,

¹¹Is a voice of joy and a voice of gladness, Voice of bridegroom, and voice of bride, The voice of those saying, Thank Jehovah of Hosts, for Jehovah [is] good, For His kindness [is] to the age, Who are bringing in thanksgiving to the house of Jehovah, For I turn back the captivity of the land, As at the first, said Jehovah.

¹²Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Again there is in this place -- that is waste, Without man and beast, And in all its cities -- a habitation of shepherds, Causing the flock to lie down.

¹³In the cities of the hill-country, In the cities of the low country, And in the cities of the south, And in the land of Benjamin, And in the suburbs of Jerusalem, And in the cities of Judah, Again doth the flock pass by under the hands of the numberer, said Jehovah.

¹⁴Lo, days are coming, an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have established the good word That I spake unto the house of Israel, And concerning the house of Judah.

¹⁵In those days, and at that time, I cause to shoot up to David a shoot of righteousness, And he hath done judgment and righteousness in the earth.

¹⁶In those days is Judah saved, And Jerusalem doth dwell confidently, And this [is] he whom Jehovah proclaimeth to her: ‘Our Righteousness.'

¹⁷For thus said Jehovah: ‘Not cut off to David is one sitting on the throne of the house of Israel,

¹⁸And to the priests -- the Levites, Not cut off from before Me is one, Causing a burnt-offering to ascend, And perfuming a present, and making sacrifice -- all the days.'

¹⁹And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,

²⁰‘Thus said Jehovah: If ye do break My covenant of the day, And My covenant of the night, So that they are not daily and nightly in their season,

²¹Also My covenant is broken with David My servant, So that he hath not a son reigning on his throne, And with the Levites the priests, My ministers.

²²As the host of the heavens is not numbered, Nor the sand of the sea measured, So I multiply the seed of David My servant, And the Levites My ministers.'

²³And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying:

²⁴‘Hast thou not considered what this people have spoken, saying: The two families on which Jehovah fixed, He doth reject them, And my people they despise -- So that they are no more a people before them!

²⁵Thus said Jehovah: If My covenant [is] not daily and nightly, The statutes of heaven and earth I have not appointed --

²⁶Also the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, I reject, Against taking from his seed rulers For the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, For I turn back [to] their captivity, and have pitied them.'

Jeremiah 34

¹The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah -- and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his force, and all kingdoms of the land of the dominion of his hand, and all the peoples are fighting against Jerusalem, and against all its cities -- saying:

²‘Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel: Go, and thou hast spoken unto Zedekiah king of Judah, and hast said unto him, Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he hath burned it with fire,

³and thou, thou dost not escape out of his hand, for thou art certainly caught, and into his hand thou art given, and thine eyes see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth with thy mouth speaketh, and Babylon thou enterest.

⁴‘Only, hear a word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah, Thus said Jehovah unto thee: Thou dost not die by sword,

⁵in peace thou diest, and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings who have been before thee, so they make a burning for thee; and Ah, lord, they lament for thee, for the word I have spoken -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'

⁶And Jeremiah the prophet speaketh unto Zedekiah king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem,

⁷and the forces of the king of Babylon are fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that are left -- against Lachish, and against Azekah, for these have been left among the cities of Judah, cities of fortresses.

⁸The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, after the making by the king Zedekiah of a covenant with all the people who [are] in Jerusalem, to proclaim to them liberty,

⁹to send out each his man-servant, and each his maid-servant -- the Hebrew and the Hebrewess -- free, so as not to lay service on them, any on a Jew his brother;

¹⁰and hearken do all the heads, and all the people who have come in to the covenant to send forth each his man-servant and each his maid-servant free, so as not to lay service on them any more, yea, they hearken, and send them away;

¹¹and they turn afterwards, and cause the men-servants and the maid-servants to return, whom they had sent forth free, and they subdue them for men-servants and for maid-servants.

¹²And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying:

¹³‘Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I -- I made a covenant with your fathers in the day of My bringing them forth from the land of Egypt, from a house of servants, saying,

¹⁴At the end of seven years ye do send forth each his brother, the Hebrew, who is sold to thee, and hath served thee six years, yea, thou hast sent him forth free from thee: and your fathers hearkened not unto Me, nor inclined their ear.

¹⁵‘And ye turn back, ye to-day, and ye do that which is right in Mine eyes, to proclaim liberty each to his neighbour, and ye make a covenant before Me in the house over which My name is called.

¹⁶And -- ye turn back, and pollute My name, and ye cause each his man-servant and each his maid-servant, whom he had sent forth free, (at their pleasure,) to return, and ye subdue them to be to you for men-servants and for maid-servants.

¹⁷‘Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Ye have not hearkened unto Me to proclaim freedom, each to his brother, and each to his neighbour; lo, I am proclaiming to you liberty -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- unto the sword, unto the pestilence, and unto the famine, and I have given you for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth.

¹⁸‘And I have given the men who are transgressing My covenant, who have not established the words of the covenant that they have made before Me, by the calf, that they have cut in two, and pass through between its pieces --

¹⁹heads of Judah, and heads of Jerusalem, the officers, and the priests, and all the people of the land those passing through between the pieces of the calf --

²⁰yea, I have given them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their soul, and their carcase hath been for food to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth.

²¹‘And Zedekiah king of Judah, and his heads, I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those seeking their soul, and into the hand of the forces of the king of Babylon, that are going up from off you.

²²Lo, I am commanding -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and have brought them back unto this city, and they have fought against it, and captured it, and burned it with fire, and the cities of Judah I do make a desolation -- without inhabitant.'

Jeremiah 35

¹The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, saying:

²‘Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and thou hast spoken with them, and brought them into the house of Jehovah, unto one of the chambers, and caused them to drink wine.'

³And I take Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and all the house of the Rechabites,

⁴and bring them into the house of Jehovah, unto the chamber of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God, that [is] near to the chamber of the princes, that [is] above the chamber of Maaseiah son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold;

⁵and I put before the sons of the house of the Rechabites goblets full of wine, and cups, and I say unto them, Drink ye wine.

⁶And they say, ‘We do not drink wine: for Jonadab son of Rechab, our father, charged us, saying, Ye do not drink wine, ye and your sons -- unto the age;

⁷and a house ye do not build, and seed ye do not sow, and a vineyard ye do not plant, nor have ye any; for in tents do ye dwell all your days, that ye may live many days on the face of the ground whither ye are sojourning.

⁸‘And we hearken to the voice of Jonadab son of Rechab, our father, to all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters;

⁹nor to build houses for our dwelling; and vineyard, and field, and seed, we have none;

¹⁰and we dwell in tents, and we hearken, and we do according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us;

¹¹and it cometh to pass, in the coming up of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon unto the land, that we say, Come, and we enter Jerusalem, because of the force of the Chaldeans, and because of the force of Aram -- and we dwell in Jerusalem.'

¹²And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying: ‘Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel:

¹³‘Go, and thou hast said to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Do ye not receive instruction? -- to hearken unto My words -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

¹⁴Performed have been the words of Jonadab son of Rechab, when he commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk unto this day, for they have obeyed the command of their father; and I -- I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking, and ye have not hearkened unto Me.

¹⁵And I send unto you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending, saying: Turn back, I pray you, each from his evil way, and amend your doings, yea, ye do not walk after other gods, to serve them, and dwell ye on the ground that I have given to you and to your fathers; and ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto Me.

¹⁶‘Because the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab have performed the command of their father, that he commanded them, and this people have not hearkened unto Me,

¹⁷therefore thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am bringing in unto Judah, and unto all inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil that I have spoken against them, because I have spoken unto them, and they have not hearkened, yea, I call to them, and they have not answered.'

¹⁸And to the house of the Rechabites said Jeremiah: ‘Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Because that ye have hearkened unto the command of Jonadab your father, and ye observe all his commands, and do according to all that he commanded you;

¹⁹therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Of Jonadab son of Rechab one standing before me is not cut off all the days.'

Jeremiah 36

¹And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying:

²‘Take to thee a roll of a book, and thou hast written on it all the words that I have spoken unto thee concerning Israel, and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day;

³if so be the house of Israel do hear all the evil that I am thinking of doing to them, so that they turn back each from is evil way, and I have been propitious to their iniquity, and to their sin.'

⁴And Jeremiah calleth Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch writeth from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, that He hath spoken unto him, on a roll of a book.

⁵And Jeremiah commandeth Baruch, saying, ‘I am restrained, I am not able to enter the house of Jehovah;

⁶but thou hast entered -- and thou hast read in the roll that thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah, in the ears of the people, in the house of Jehovah, in the day of the fast, and also in the ears of all Judah who are coming in from their cities thou dost read them;

⁷if so be their supplication doth fall before Jehovah, and they turn back each from his evil way, for great [is] the anger and the fury that Jehovah hath spoken concerning this people.'

⁸And Baruch son of Neriah doth according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, to read in the book the words of Jehovah in the house of Jehovah.

⁹And it cometh to pass, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah have all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who are coming in from cities of Judah to Jerusalem;

¹⁰and Baruch readeth in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the opening of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people.

¹¹And Michaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heareth all the words of Jehovah from off the book,

¹²and he goeth down [to] the house of the king, unto the chamber of the scribe, and lo, there are all the heads sitting: Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan son of Acbor, and Gemariah son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the heads.

¹³And declare to them doth Micaiah all the words that he hath heard, when Baruch readeth in the book in the ears of the people;

¹⁴and all the heads send unto Baruch, Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, ‘The roll in which thou hast read in the ears of the people take in thy hand, and come.' And Baruch son of Neriah taketh the roll in his hand and cometh in unto them,

¹⁵and they say unto him, ‘Sit down, we pray thee, and read it in our ears,' and Baruch readeth in their ears,

¹⁶and it cometh to pass, when they hear all the words, they have been afraid one at another, and say unto Baruch, ‘We do surely declare to the king all these words.'

¹⁷And they asked Baruch, saying, ‘Declare, we pray thee, to us, how didst thou write all these words -- from his mouth?'

¹⁸And Baruch saith to them, ‘From his mouth, he pronounceth unto me all these words, and I am writing on the book with ink.'

¹⁹And the heads say unto Baruch, ‘Go, be hidden, thou and Jeremiah, and let no one know where ye [are].'

²⁰And they go in unto the king, to the court, and the roll they have laid up in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they declare in the ears of the king all the words.

²¹And the king sendeth Jehudi to take the roll, and he taketh it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Jehudi readeth it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the heads who are standing by the king;

²²and the king is sitting in the winter-house, in the ninth month, and the stove before him is burning,

²³and it cometh to pass, when Jehudi readeth three or four leaves, he cutteth it out with the scribe's knife, and hath cast unto the fire, that [is] on the stove, till the consumption of all the roll by the fire that [is] on the stove.

²⁴And the king and all his servants who are hearing all these words have not been afraid, nor rent their garments.

²⁵And also Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah have interceded with the king not to burn the roll, and he hath not hearkened unto them.

²⁶And the king commandeth Jerahmeel son of Hammelek, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Jehovah doth hide them.

²⁷And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah -- after the king's burning the roll, even the words that Baruch hath written from the mouth of Jeremiah -- saying:

²⁸‘Turn, take to thee another roll, and write on it all the former words that were on the first roll, that Jehoiakim king of Judah burnt,

²⁹and unto Jehoiakim king of Judah thou dost say: Thus said Jehovah, Thou hast burnt this roll, saying, Wherefore hast thou written on it, saying, The king of Babylon surely cometh in, and hath destroyed this land, and caused to cease from it man and beast?

³⁰‘Therefore, thus said Jehovah, concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He hath none sitting on the throne of David, and his carcase is cast out to heat by day, and to cold by night;

³¹and I have charged on him, and on his seed, and on his servants, their iniquity; and I have brought in on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto the men of Judah, all the evil that I have spoken unto them, and they hearkened not.'

³²And Jeremiah hath taken another roll, and giveth it unto Baruch son of Neriah the scribe, and he writeth on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah hath burnt in the fire; and again there were added unto them many words like these.