Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

1 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. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was ^gshut up in the ^hcourt of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ⁱ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 Zedekiah king of Judah ^jshall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but ^kshall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5 And he shall ^ltake Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I ^mvisit him, declares the Lord. Though you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ‘Buy my field that is at ⁿAnathoth, for the right of ^oredemption by purchase is yours.’ 8 Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

9 “And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. 12 And I gave the deed of purchase to ^pBaruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: 17 ‘Ah, Lord God! ^qIt is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! ^rNothing is too hard for you. 18 ^sYou show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts, 19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, ^trewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20 You have shown ^usigns and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have ^vmade a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 You ^wbrought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with ^xgreat terror. 22 And you gave them this land, ^ywhich you swore to their fathers to give them, a land ^zflowing with milk and honey. 23 And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. 24 Behold, the ^asiege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of ^bsword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. 25 Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”

26 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27 “Behold, I am the Lord, ^cthe God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 29 The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and ^dburn it, with the houses ^eon whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and ^fdrink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their ^gyouth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the Lord. 31 This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight 32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 They have turned to me their ^hback and not their face. And though I have taught them ⁱpersistently, they have not listened to ^jreceive instruction. 34 ^kThey set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, ^lto offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, ^mthough I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

36 “Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: 37 Behold, I will ⁿgather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. 38 And ^othey shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 ^pI will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, ^qfor their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make with them an ^reverlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will ^sput the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will ^trejoice in doing them good, and I will ^uplant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

42 “For thus says the Lord: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. 43 Fields shall be bought in this land ^vof which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ 44 Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the ^wShephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

Lawsuits Against Believers

1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will ^mjudge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 ⁿI say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. ^oWhy not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!¹

9 ^pOr do you not know that the unrighteous² will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the ^qsexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,³ 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And ^rsuch were some of you. But you were ^swashed, you were ^tsanctified, you were ^ujustified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Flee Sexual Immorality

12 ^v“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 ^w“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And ^xGod raised the Lord and will also ^yraise us up ^zby his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are ^amembers of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined⁴ to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ^b“The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes ^cone spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin⁵ a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that ^dyour body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? ^eYou are not your own, 20 for you were ^fbought with a price. So ^gglorify God in your body.

Principles for Marriage

1 ^hNow concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to ⁱsexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her ^jconjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 ^kDo not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

6 Now ^las a concession, not a command, I say this.⁶ 7 ^mI wish that all were ⁿas I myself am. But ^oeach has his own gift from God, ^pone of one kind and one of another.

8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. 9 ^qBut if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not ^rseparate from her husband 11 (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is ^smade holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, ^tthey are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you⁷ to ^upeace. 16 For how do you know, wife, ^vwhether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Live as You Are Called

17 Only let each person lead the life⁸ that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule ^win all the churches. 18 ^xWas anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. 19 For ^yneither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but ^zkeeping the commandments of God. 20 Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. 21 Were you a bondservant⁹ when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) 22 For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant ^ais a ^bfreedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a ^cbondservant of Christ. 23 You were ^dbought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. 24 So, brothers,¹⁰ in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

The Unmarried and the Widowed

25 Now concerning¹¹ the betrothed,¹² I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who ^eby the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present¹³ distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman¹⁴ marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. 29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For ^fthe present form of this world is passing away.

32 I want you to be free from anxieties. The ^gunmarried man is ^hanxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or ⁱbetrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be ^jholy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

36 If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed,¹⁵ if his¹⁶ passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. 37 But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no ^knecessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.

39 ^lA wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, ^monly in the Lord. 40 Yet ⁿin my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.