4. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the army of the Babylonians. But he will surely be given to the king of Babylon. And Zedekiah will speak to the king of Babylon face to face. Zedekiah will see him with his own eyes.
5. The king of Babylon will take Zedekiah to Babylon. Zedekiah will stay there until I have punished him,’ says the Lord. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”)
6. While Jeremiah was prisoner, he said, “The Lord spoke his word to me. He said:
7. Jeremiah, your cousin Hanamel will come to you soon. He is the son of your uncle Shallum. Hanamel will say to you, ‘Jeremiah, you are my nearest relative. So buy my field near the town of Anathoth. It is your right and your responsibility to buy that field.’
8. “Then it happened just as the Lord had said. My cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard. He said to me, ‘Buy my field near Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. Buy that land for yourself. It is your right to buy it and own it.’ So I knew this was a message from the Lord.
9. “I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver for him.
10. I signed the record that showed I now owned the field. And I had a copy of the record sealed up. Some men witnessed it and signed it also. And I weighed out the silver on the scales.
11. Then I took the sealed copy of the record of ownership. And I took the copy that was not sealed.
12. And I gave them to Baruch son of Neriah. Neriah was the son of Mahseiah. The sealed copy of the record of ownership had all the demands and limits of my purchase. I gave this paper of ownership to Baruch. It was while my cousin Hanamel and the other witnesses were there. Those witnesses also signed the record of ownership. There were also many Jews sitting in the courtyard. And they saw me give the record of ownership to Baruch.
13. “With all the people watching, I said to Baruch,
14. ‘This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: Take both copies of the record of ownership. Take both the sealed copy and the copy that was not sealed. And put them in a clay jar. Do this so that they will last a long time.
15. This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: In the future my people will once again buy houses. They will also buy fields for grain and vineyards in the land of Israel.’
16. “I gave the record of ownership to Baruch son of Neriah. Then I prayed to the Lord. I said:
17. Oh, Lord God, you made the skies and the earth. You made them with your very great power. There is nothing too wonderful for you to do.
18. Lord, you show love and kindness to thousands of people. But you also bring punishment to children for their fathers’ sins. Great and powerful God, your name is the Lord of heaven’s armies.
19. You plan and do great things, Lord. You see everything that people do. You reward people for the way they live and for what they do.