Chapter Text
Jeremiah Buys a Field
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.
2For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.
3For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
4And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
5And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
6And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
7Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.
8So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.
9And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
10And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
11So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
12And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
13And I charged Baruch before them, saying,
14Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.
15For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
Jeremiah's Prayer
16Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,
17Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
18Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,
19Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
20Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;
21And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;
22And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:
24Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.
25And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
27Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?
28Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:
29And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.
30For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD.
31For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; 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, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.
34But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.
35And they 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 the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
God's Promise
36And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;
37Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:
40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
41Yea, 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 thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.
43And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
44Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.
Summary
God instructs Jeremiah to go to the potter's house, where he observes the potter working clay on the wheel. When the vessel is marred, the potter remakes it into another vessel as seems good to him.
God declares that as the clay is in the potter's hand, so is Israel in His hand. If God pronounces judgment against a nation and it repents, He will relent of the intended evil. Conversely, if a nation He has blessed turns to wickedness, He will withdraw His blessing. The people reject this message and plot against Jeremiah.
Meaning
The potter and clay metaphor is foundational for understanding God's sovereignty and human responsibility. God has absolute authority over the nations, yet His dealings are responsive to human conduct. Repentance can avert judgment, and rebellion can forfeit blessing.
Unlike the broken vessel of chapter 19, this clay is still on the wheel and can be reshaped. This distinction teaches that there is a season for repentance when reformation is still possible, and a point beyond which only judgment remains. The timing of response to God matters enormously.
Background
Pottery was among the most common industries in ancient Judah. The potter's quarter in Jerusalem would have been well known to Jeremiah's audience, making this an accessible and powerful illustration.
The potter's ability to reshape marred clay demonstrated a concept familiar in daily life. The theological application, that God could reshape nations, was both comforting and sobering depending on the hearer's spiritual condition.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-5Jeremiah imprisoned during the siege
- vv. 6-15The redemption of the field at Anathoth
- vv. 16-25Jeremiah's prayer of perplexed faith
- vv. 26-35The Lord's indictment of Judah's idolatry
- vv. 36-41Promise of an everlasting covenant
- vv. 42-44Fields shall be bought again
Key Verses
“Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”— 32:17
Jeremiah's confession of God's omnipotence has become one of Scripture's most beloved declarations of divine power, frequently quoted in prayer and hymnody as a foundation for faith in impossible circumstances.
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”— 32:27
God's own answer to Jeremiah's prayer echoes the question back as rhetorical affirmation, asserting universal sovereignty over all humanity and establishing a key biblical theme of divine omnipotence.
“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:”— 32:38
This covenant formula appears throughout Scripture as the heart of God's relationship with His people, anticipating the new covenant promises fulfilled in Christ and consummated in Revelation.
“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.”— 32:40
A foundational new covenant promise paralleling Jeremiah 31:31-34, declaring God's unilateral commitment to inward transformation and perseverance of His people.
People & Places
People
- Jeremiah — The prophet, imprisoned in the court of the guard for prophesying Jerusalem's fall.
- Zedekiah — Last king of Judah, who imprisoned Jeremiah for his unwelcome prophecies against the city.
- Nebuchadrezzar — King of Babylon whose army was besieging Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of his reign.
- Hanameel — Jeremiah's cousin, son of his uncle Shallum, who offered his field in Anathoth for redemption.
- Shallum — Jeremiah's uncle and father of Hanameel, owner of the ancestral field in Anathoth.
- Baruch — Son of Neriah and Jeremiah's faithful scribe, entrusted with safekeeping the deeds of purchase.
- Neriah — Father of Baruch the scribe.
- Maaseiah — Grandfather of Baruch, named in the scribe's lineage.
Places
- Jerusalem — The besieged capital of Judah, under attack by Babylonian forces and destined for destruction.
- Babylon — The imperial power under Nebuchadrezzar besieging Jerusalem and destined to exile its king.
- Anathoth — Jeremiah's hometown in the territory of Benjamin, location of the ancestral field he redeemed.
- Benjamin — The tribal territory just north of Jerusalem where Anathoth was located.
- Egypt — Recalled in Jeremiah's prayer as the place of God's signs and wonders in delivering Israel.
- Valley of the son of Hinnom — Site south of Jerusalem where Judah built high places to Baal and burned children to Molech.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
This chapter weaves together near and far prophecy. Verses 3-5 and 28-29 predict the imminent fall of Jerusalem and Zedekiah's capture, fulfilled in 586 BC as recorded in Jeremiah 39 and 2 Kings 25. More striking is the symbolic prophecy of restoration: Jeremiah's purchase of the field (vv. 15, 43-44) foretells Judah's return from exile under Cyrus. Verses 37-41 anticipate the new covenant, with God placing His fear in His people's hearts—a promise consummated in Christ and the gift of the Spirit (Hebrews 8; 2 Corinthians 3).
Devotional
Jeremiah buys a field while enemy armies pile siege ramps against the city walls. It is one of Scripture's most striking acts of hope—an investment in a future only God can guarantee. Faith often looks like this: small, costly obedience in the face of circumstances that argue against it.
When Jeremiah prays "nothing is too hard for thee," then immediately confesses confusion about what God has asked, we learn that honest faith holds confession and bewilderment together. God's answer is not an explanation but His own name. What impossible thing are you being asked to trust Him with today?
Literary Style
Historical prophetic narrative framing a symbolic action (the field purchase) and a prayer-oracle dialogue. The chapter blends legal detail, autobiographical memoir, doxological prayer, and divine oracle, climaxing in covenant promises marked by emphatic first-person divine speech and parallelism.