Jeremiah's purchase of ancestral land during active siege creates the Bible's most paradoxical real estate transaction, embodying hope through seemingly foolish obedience.
Jeremiah 32
Jeremiah Buys a Field
1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2Now at that time the king of Babylon’s army was besieging Jerusalem. Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house.
3For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, and say, ‘The LORD says, “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it;
4and Zedekiah king of Judah won’t escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes will see his eyes;
5and he will bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says the LORD, “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will not prosper”’?”
6Jeremiah said, “The LORD’s word came to me, saying,
7‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, “Buy my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.”’”
8“So Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to the LORD’s word, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours. Buy it for yourself.’ “Then I knew that this was the LORD’s word.
9I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
10I signed the deed, sealed it, called witnesses, and weighed the money in the balances to him.
11So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open;
12and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle’s son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.
13“I commanded Baruch before them, saying,
14the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days.’
15For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards will yet again be bought in this land.’
Jeremiah's Prayer
16Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying,
17“Ah Lord GOD! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you.
18You show loving kindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them. The great, the mighty God, the LORD of Armies is your name:
19great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;
20who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, both in Israel and among other men; and made yourself a name, as it is today;
21and brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, with wonders, with a strong hand, with an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
22and gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.
23They came in and possessed it, but they didn’t obey your voice and didn’t walk in your law. They have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do. Therefore you have caused all this evil to come upon them.
24“Behold, siege ramps have been built against the city to take it. The city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, of the famine, and of the pestilence. What you have spoken has happened. Behold, you see it.
25You have said to me, Lord GOD, ‘Buy the field for money, and call witnesses;’ whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”
God's Answer: Judgment and Restoration
26Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,
27“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?
28Therefore the LORD says: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.
29The Chaldeans, who fight against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and burn it with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.
30“For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, says the LORD.
31For this city has been to me a provocation of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even to this day, so that I should remove it from before my face,
32because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger—they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33They have turned their backs to me, and not their faces. Although I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.
34But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.
35They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through fire to Molech, which I didn’t command them. It didn’t even come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.”
36Now therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning this city, about which you say, “It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence:”
37“Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again to this place. I will cause them to dwell safely.
38Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.
39I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good and the good of their children after them.
40I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good. I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.
41Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.”
42For the LORD says: “Just as I have brought all this great evil on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them.
43Fields will be bought in this land, about which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man or animal. It is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’
44Men will buy fields for money, sign the deeds, seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places around Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South; for I will cause their captivity to be reversed,” says the LORD.
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Theme
During Jerusalem's siege by Babylon, God commands the imprisoned prophet Jeremiah to purchase a field from his cousin as a sign that property will again be bought in the land after exile. Jeremiah obeys this seemingly illogical command, then prays acknowledging God's sovereignty and power. God responds by confirming both the coming judgment due to Judah's persistent idolatry and disobedience, and the eventual restoration when He will establish a new covenant with His people.
Context
This chapter occurs during the final siege of Jerusalem, building on previous judgment oracles while introducing the major restoration themes that will dominate chapters 30-33.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-5 Historical Setting Jeremiah is imprisoned during Babylon's siege for prophesying Jerusalem's fall and Zedekiah's capture.
- 6-15 Jeremiah Buys a Field God commands Jeremiah to purchase his cousin's field as a prophetic sign of future restoration.
- 16-25 Jeremiah's Prayer The prophet prays, acknowledging God's creative power and justice while questioning the field purchase.
- 26-35 God's Response: Coming Judgment God confirms Jerusalem's destruction due to persistent idolatry and covenant violations.
- 36-44 Promise of Restoration God promises to regather His people and establish an everlasting covenant with transformed hearts.
Jeremiah Buys a Field
32:1–32:15 narrative narration solemn
During Jerusalem's siege, Jeremiah obeys God's command to purchase his cousin's field in Anathoth as a prophetic sign of future restoration despite present judgment.
person_contrast
Jeremiah's purchase of ancestral land during active siege creates the Bible's most paradoxical real estate transaction, embodying hope through seemingly foolish obedience.
Jeremiah's Prayer
32:16–32:25 narrative prayer contemplative
Jeremiah prays to God, acknowledging His sovereignty and mighty works while questioning the command to buy land when Jerusalem faces imminent destruction by the Chaldeans.
person_contrast
Jeremiah uniquely pairs creation theology ("you have made the heavens and the earth") with economic bewilderment, creating the Bible's most paradoxical prayer of cosmic praise amid personal confusion.
God's Answer: Judgment and Restoration
32:26–32:44 prophecy speech wrathful
God responds to Jeremiah's prayer by affirming His sovereignty and explaining that Jerusalem will be given to Babylon due to persistent idolatry and disobedience, while promising future restoration.
person_contrast
Jeremiah's typical prophetic role shifts dramatically as God's rhetorical question "Is anything too hard for me?" transforms the weeping prophet into a witness of divine sovereignty rather than merely judgment's herald.
Insights
Jeremiah uniquely pairs creation theology ("you have made the heavens and the earth") with economic bewilderment, creating the Bible's most paradoxical prayer of cosmic praise amid personal confusion.
Jeremiah's typical prophetic role shifts dramatically as God's rhetorical question "Is anything too hard for me?" transforms the weeping prophet into a witness of divine sovereignty rather than merely judgment's herald.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Jeremiah 32:1 4 references
Lexicals 4
Jeremiah 39:1 Lexical
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came ag…
Jeremiah 52:29 Lexical
in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty-two persons;
Jeremiah 52:1 Lexical
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign. He reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Ha…
2 Kings 24:18 Lexical
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name wa…
Jeremiah 32:2 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 33:1 Lexical
Moreover the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still locked up in the court of the guard, sayin…
Jeremiah 38:28 Lexical
So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.
Jeremiah 38:13 Lexical
So they lifted Jeremiah up with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the…
Jeremiah 39:14 Lexical
sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shapha…
Jeremiah 39:15 Lexical
Now the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying,
Jeremiah 32:3 3 references
Lexicals 3
Jeremiah 29:21 Lexical
The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maase…
Jeremiah 34:2 Lexical
“The LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, the LORD says, “Behold, I wi…
Jeremiah 44:30 Lexical
The LORD says, ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those…
Jeremiah 32:4 3 references
Lexicals 3
Jeremiah 39:5 Lexical
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. When they had taken him, the…
Jeremiah 38:23 Lexical
They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You won’t escape out of their hand, but will be t…
Jeremiah 38:18 Lexical
But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans…
Jeremiah 32:5 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 25:12 Lexical
“It will happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,” says the…
Jeremiah 39:5 Lexical
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. When they had taken him, the…
Jeremiah 21:4 Lexical
‘The LORD, the God of Israel says, “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you f…
Jeremiah 41:18 Lexical
because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son…
Jeremiah 21:7 Lexical
Afterward,” says the LORD, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, even those who are left…
Jeremiah 32:8 1 reference
Jeremiah 32:9 5 references
Lexicals 5
Genesis 23:16 Lexical
Abraham listened to Ephron. Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the children of He…
Esther 3:9 Lexical
If it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the…
2 Samuel 24:24 Lexical
The king said to Araunah, “No, but I will most certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings t…
Leviticus 27:16 Lexical
“‘If a man dedicates to the LORD part of the field of his possession, then your valuation shall be according to the seed…
Exodus 38:25 Lexical
The silver of those who were counted of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred seventy-…
Jeremiah 32:10 5 references
Lexicals 5
1 Kings 21:8 Lexical
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles…
Esther 8:10 Lexical
He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by courier on horseback, ri…
Esther 3:9 Lexical
If it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the…
Job 31:6 Lexical
(let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity);
Job 6:2 Lexical
“Oh that my anguish were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
Jeremiah 32:11 1 reference
Jeremiah 32:12 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 36:4 Lexical
Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the LORD’s words, which h…
Jeremiah 45:1 Lexical
The message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mout…
Jeremiah 36:32 Lexical
Then Jeremiah took another scroll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth…
Jeremiah 36:8 Lexical
Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the LORD’s wo…
Jeremiah 51:59 Lexical
The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah…
Jeremiah 32:16 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 36:4 Lexical
Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the LORD’s words, which h…
Jeremiah 45:1 Lexical
The message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mout…
Jeremiah 36:8 Lexical
Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the LORD’s wo…
Jeremiah 36:32 Lexical
Then Jeremiah took another scroll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth…
Jeremiah 36:14 Lexical
Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “…
Jeremiah 32:17 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 20:33 Lexical
As I live,” says the Lord GOD, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I will b…
Jeremiah 1:6 Lexical
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”
Ezekiel 11:13 Lexical
When I prophesied, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said,…
Ezekiel 9:8 Lexical
While they were killing, and I was left, I fell on my face, and cried, and said, “Ah Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the…
Joshua 7:7 Lexical
Joshua said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to deliver us into the hand of th…
Jeremiah 32:18 3 references
Lexicals 3
Jeremiah 51:56 Lexical
For the destroyer has come on her, even on Babylon. Her mighty men are taken. Their bows are broken in pieces, for the L…
Nehemiah 9:32 Lexical
Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness, don’t let al…
Micah 7:18 Lexical
Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t…
Jeremiah 32:21 3 references
Lexicals 3
Deuteronomy 26:8 Lexical
The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with w…
Deuteronomy 4:34 Lexical
Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war,…
Deuteronomy 7:19 Lexical
the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LO…
Jeremiah 32:22 5 references
Lexicals 5
Deuteronomy 11:9 Lexical
and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspri…
Exodus 13:5 Lexical
It shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite,…
Jeremiah 11:5 Lexical
that I may establish the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is…
Joshua 5:6 Lexical
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness until all the nation, even the men of war who came out o…
Deuteronomy 26:15 Lexical
Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us,…
Jeremiah 32:24 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 21:9 Lexical
He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes out and passes…
Jeremiah 38:2 Lexical
“The LORD says, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goe…
Jeremiah 34:17 Lexical
Therefore the LORD says: “You have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to h…
Jeremiah 29:17 Lexical
the LORD of Armies says: “Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like…
Jeremiah 37:8 Lexical
The Chaldeans will come again, and fight against this city. They will take it and burn it with fire.”’
Jeremiah 32:25 2 references
Jeremiah 32:28 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 39:5 Lexical
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. When they had taken him, the…
Jeremiah 35:11 Lexical
But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, ‘Come! Let’s go to Jerusalem for fear of the arm…
Jeremiah 22:25 Lexical
I would give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of them of whom you are afraid, even into…
Ezekiel 29:19 Lexical
Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will carry off…
Jeremiah 43:10 Lexical
Tell them, the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon…
Jeremiah 32:29 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 7:18 Lexical
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of…
Jeremiah 19:13 Lexical
The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, will be as the place of Topheth, even a…
2 Kings 22:17 Lexical
Because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the wo…
Jeremiah 44:8 Lexical
in that you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where y…
Jeremiah 37:10 Lexical
For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and only wounded men remained among the…
Jeremiah 32:31 1 reference
Jeremiah 32:35 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 7:31 Lexical
They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their da…
2 Kings 23:10 Lexical
He defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to…
2 Chronicles 28:3 Lexical
Moreover he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burned his children in the fire, according to the abo…
1 Kings 11:7 Lexical
Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, and for M…
2 Kings 21:3 Lexical
For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he raised up altars for Baal, and made a…
Jeremiah 32:36 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 27:13 Lexical
Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD has spoken concer…
Jeremiah 27:8 Lexical
“‘“‘It will happen that I will punish the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Ba…
Jeremiah 21:7 Lexical
Afterward,” says the LORD, “I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, even those who are left…
Jeremiah 42:22 Lexical
Now therefore know certainly that you will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence in the place where you…
1 Chronicles 21:12 Lexical
either three years of famine; or three months to be consumed before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes…
Jeremiah 32:37 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 21:5 Lexical
I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, in wrath, and in great i…
Jeremiah 49:5 Lexical
Behold, I will bring a terror on you,” says the Lord, GOD of Armies, “from all who are around you. All of you will be dr…
Zephaniah 3:19 Lexical
Behold, at that time I will deal with all those who afflict you; and I will save those who are lame and gather those who…
Nehemiah 1:9 Lexical
but if you return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the he…
Jeremiah 29:14 Lexical
I will be found by you,” says the LORD, “and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nation…
Jeremiah 32:40 2 references
Lexicals 2
Jeremiah 32:44 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 17:26 Lexical
They will come from the cities of Judah, and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowla…
Jeremiah 33:13 Lexical
In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in…
Obadiah 1:19 Lexical
Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the f…
Zechariah 7:7 Lexical
Aren’t these the words which the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity,…
1 Kings 21:8 Lexical
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles…
Interlinear
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Lemma
Morphology
Semantic Range
Theological Significance
Translation Notes
Key Passages
Historical Context
Places and events in this chapter
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Timeline
Exodus
c. 1446 BCIsrael's miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery under Moses' leadership, including the ten plagues and Red Sea crossing. This foundational event established Israel as God's chosen nation.
Jeremiah recalls God's mighty deliverance from Egypt as evidence of His power to act.
Jeremiah's Prayer