The Hebrew Prophets

The measuring line will be stretched straight to Garev Hill, then turn to Go'ah.

The whole valley of corpses and ashes, including all the fields as far as Vadi Kidron, and on to the corner of the Horse Gate to the east, will be separated out for Adonai; it will never be uprooted or destroyed again."

This is the word that came to Yirmeyahu from ADONAI in the tenth year of Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah, which was the eighteenth year of N'vukhadretzar.

At that time the army of the king of Bavel was besieging Yerushalayim; and Yirmeyahu the prophet was imprisoned in the guards' quarters attached to the king of Y'hudah's palace,

where Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah had imprisoned him after demanding, "How dare you prophesy that ADONAI says, 'I will hand this city over to the king of Bavel, and he will capture it;

Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah will not escape from the Kasdim but will certainly be handed over to the king of Bavel, who will address him face to face, with their eyes meeting;

and he will lead Tzidkiyahu to Bavel, where he will stay until I remember him,' says ADONAI, 'and even if you fight the Kasdim, you will fail'?"

Yirmeyahu said, "This word of ADONAI came to me:

'Hanam'el, the son of your uncle Shalum, will approach you and say, "Buy my field at 'Anatot; you have next-of-kin's right to redeem it; so buy it."'"

AS ADONAI had said, my cousin Hanam'el came to me in the guards' quarters and said, "Please buy my field at 'Anatot, in the territory of Binyamin; because you will inherit it, and you have next-of-kin's right to redeem it, so buy it for yourself." Then I was certain that this was ADONAI's word.

So I bought the field at 'Anatot which belonged to my cousin Hanam'el and weighed out the money for him, seven ounces of silver shekels.

I signed on the purchase contract, sealed it, called witnesses and weighed out the money for him on a balance scale.

I took the purchase contract, both the sealed copy with the terms and conditions, and the unsealed copy,

and gave the purchase contract to Barukh the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, in the presence of my cousin Hanam'el, the witnesses who had signed the purchase contract and the people from Y'hudah sitting by the guards' quarters.

In their presence I instructed Barukh as follows:

"Here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'Take these contracts, both the sealed and unsealed copies, and place them in a clay jar, so that they can be preserved for a long time.'

For ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says that one day homes, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land."

After giving the purchase contract to Barukh son of Neriyah, I prayed to ADONAI:

"ADONAI, God! You made heaven and earth by your great power and outstretched arm; nothing is too hard for you.

You display your grace to thousands but also repay the guilt of the fathers into the lap of their children who follow them. Great, powerful God, whose name is ADONAI-Tzva'ot,

great in counsel, mighty in deed! Your eyes are open to all the ways of human beings in order to repay each one according to his ways, according to the consequences of what he does.

You gave signs and performed miracles in the land of Egypt which continue to this day, also in Isra'el and among other people; thus you made yourself the reputation you have today.

You brought your people of Isra'el out of the land of Egypt with signs and miracles, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror.

Then you gave them this land, which you had sworn to their ancestors that you would give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.

They entered and took possession of it; but they did not pay attention to your voice, did not live according to your Torah, and did nothing of all you ordered them to do. Therefore you made this complete disaster befall them -