Jeremiah 32

Great^{(i) 1} These wordes spake the Lorde vnto Ieremy, in the .x. yeare of Zedekiah king of Iuda: which was the .xviij. yeare of Nabuchodonosor, ² what tyme as the kyng of Babylons hoost layed seage vnto Ierusalem. But Ieremy the prophet laye bounde in the courte of the preson, which was in the king of Iudas house: ³ where Zedekiah the kyng of Iuda caused hym to be layed, because he had prophecyed of this maner: Thus sayeth the Lorde: Beholde, I wyll delyuer this citye into the handes of the kyng of Babilon, which shall take it. ⁴ As for Zedekiah the kynge of Iuda: he shall not be able to escape the Chaldees: but surely he shall come into the handes of the kyng of Babylon: which shall speake wt him mouth to mouth: and one of them shall loke another in the face. ⁵ And Zedekiah shalbe caryed vnto Babylon, and there shall he be, vntyll the tyme that I viset hym, sayth the Lorde. But yf thou takest in hande to fyght agaynst the Chaldees, thou shalt not prospere. ⁶ And Ieremy sayde: thus hath the Lorde spoken vnto me: ⁷ Behold, Hananeel the sonne of Selum thyne vncles sonne, shall come vnto the, and requyre the to redeme the lande that lyeth in Anathoth vnto thy selfe: for by reason of kynred it is thy right to redeme it, and to bye it out. ⁸ And Hananeel myne vncles sonne came to me in the court of the preson, accordynge to the worde of the Lorde, and sayde vnto me: Bye my lande, I praye the, that lieth in Anathoth in the contrey of Beniamin: for by heritage thou haste ryght to loose it oute for thy selfe, therfore redeme it. Then I perceaued that thys was the commaundement of the Lorde, ⁹ and so I bought the lande from Hananeel of Anathoth, myne vncles sonne, and weied him there the moneye: euen seuen syckles and ten syluer pence. ¹⁰ I caused hym also to make me a writing and to seale it: and called recorde therby, and weyed hym there the money vpon the wayghtes. ¹¹ So I toke the euidence with the copye, when it was orderlye sealed and redde ouer, ¹² and I gaue the euidence vnto Baruch the sonne of Neriah the sonne of Maasiah in the syght of Hananeel my cosyne, and in the presence of the witnesses, that be named in the euidence: and before all the Iewes that were therby in the courte of the preson: ¹³ I charged Baruch also before them sayinge: ¹⁴ The Lord of hostes the God of Israel commaundeth the, to take thys sealed euydence with the copie: and to laye it in an earthen vessell, that it maye longe continue. ¹⁵ For the Lorde of hoostes the God of Israel hath determyned that houses, feldes, and vyneyardes shalbe possessed agayne in this lande. ¹⁶ Now when I had deliuered the euidence vnto Baruch the sonne of Neriah, I besought the Lorde, saying: ¹⁷ O Lord God, it is thou that hast made heauen and earth with thy greate power and hie arme, and there is nothyng hyd from the. ¹⁸ Thou shewest mercy vpon thousandes, thou recompencest the wickednes of the fathers, into the bosome of the children that come after them. ¹⁹ Thou art the greate and mightye God, whose name is the Lorde of hoostes: greate in councell, and excellent in worcke. Thyne eyes loke vpon all the wayes of mens chyldren, to reward euery one after his waye: & according to the frutes of his inuencions. ²⁰ Thou haste done greate tokens and wonders in the lande of Egypte, as we se thys daye, vpon the people of Israel and vpon those men: to make thy name greate, as it is come to passe thys daye. ²¹ Thou hast brought thy people of Israel oute of the land of Egipt, with tokens, with wonders, with a myghtye hande, with a stretched out arme and wt greate terriblenes: ²² and hast geuen them this lande, lyke as thou haddest promysed vnto their fathers. Namely, that thou woldest geue them a lande, that floweth with mylke and honye. ²³ Nowe when they came therin, and possessed it, they folowed nott thy voyce, and walcked not in thy lawe, but all that thou commaundedest them to do, that haue they not done, and therfore come all these plages vpon them. ²⁴ Beholde, there are bullworckes made now agaynst the citye, to take it: and it shalbe wonne of the Chaldees that besege it, with swearde, with honger and death, and looke what thou hast spoken, that same shall come vpon them. For lo, all thynges are present vnto the. ²⁵ Yet (saist thou vnto me, O Lorde God) and commaundest me, that I shall loose a pece of lande vnto my selfe, and take witnesses therto: and yet in the meane season the citye is delyuered into the power of the Chaldees. ²⁶ Then came the worde of the Lorde vnto me, sayinge: ²⁷ Beholde, I am the Lorde God of all fleshe, is there eny thynge then to hard for me? ²⁸ Therfore thus saith the Lorde: beholde, I shall delyuer thys citye into the power of the Chaldees, and into the power of Nabuchodonosor the kynge of Babylon, they shall take it in. ²⁹ For the Chaldees shall come, and wynne thys citye, and sett fyer vpon it, and burne it: with the gorgeouse houses, in whose parlers they haue made sacrifyce vnto Baal, and powred drynckofferynges vnto straunge Goddes, to prouoke me vnto wrath. ³⁰ For seyng the chyldren of Israel, and the children of Iuda haue wrought wickednes before me euer from theyr youth vp, what haue they els done, but prouoked me wt the workes of their awne handes? sayth the Lorde. ³¹ Or, what hath this citye bene elles but a prouoking of my wrath, euer sence the daye that they buylded it, vnto thys houre wherin I cast it out of my sight, ³² because of the great blasphemyes of the children of Israel & Iuda, which they haue done to prouoke me: yee, they, their kynges, their prynces, their prestes, their prophetes, the men of Iuda, and the cytesyns of Ierusalem. ³³ When I stode vp early, and taught them and instructed them, they turned their backes to me, and not theyr faces. ³⁴ They wolde not heare, to be refourmed and correct: but set their ydols in the house, that is halowed vnto my name, to defyle it. ³⁵ They haue builded hye places for Baal in the valley of the chyldren of Hennom, to vowe theyr sonnes and daughters vnto Moloch: which I neuer commaunded them: nether came it euer in my thoughte, to make Iuda synne with soch abhominatyon. ³⁶ And nowe therfore, thus hath the Lorde God of Israel spoken, concernynge this cytie, which (as ye youre selues confesse) shalbe delyuered into the hande of the kynge of Babylon, when it is wonne with the swearde, with honger and with pestilence. ³⁷ Beholde, I will gather them together from all landes, wherin I haue scatered them in my wrath in my fearfull and great displeasure: and wyll bring them agayne vnto thys place, where they shall dwell safely. ³⁸ And they shalbe my people, and I wilbe their God. ³⁹ And I wyll geue them one hert and one waye, that they maye feare me all the daies of their lyfe, that they and their chyldren after them maye prospere. ⁴⁰ And I wyll sett vp an euerlastyng couenaunt with them. Namelye, that I wyll neuer ceasse to do them good, and that I wyll put my feare in their hertes, so that they shall not runne awaye from me. ⁴¹ Yee, I will haue a lust and pleasure to do them good, and faythfully to plante them in this lande with my whole hert and with all my soule. ⁴² For thus sayth the Lorde: lyke as I haue brought all this great plage vpon this people, euen so wyll I also bring vpon them all the good, that I haue promised them. ⁴³ And men shall haue their possessions in this lande, wherof ye saye nowe, that it shall nether be inhabited of people ner of catell: but be deliuered into the handes of the Chaldees. ⁴⁴ Yee, lande shalbe bought for money, & euidences made therupon, and sealed before witnesses in the countrey of Beniamin, and rounde aboute Ierusalem, in the cities of Iuda, in the cities that are vpon the mountaynes, and in them that lye beneth: yee, and in the cityes that are in the south. For I wyll brynge their presoners hither agayne, sayth the Lorde.