Bible in a Year · Day 248 of 365
Today’s reading: Jeremiah 32–35 (4 chapters)
Read the passage below, or open your own Bible and follow along. The text here is the World English Bible, a public-domain translation, printed in full so the day’s reading is all on one page.
About Jeremiah
Jeremiah prophesied through the last decades of Judah, from the reforms of Josiah to the burning of Jerusalem. He is often called the weeping prophet, and the book shows why: he is forbidden to marry, beaten, put in stocks, thrown into a cistern, and accused of treason for telling the truth. His temple sermon in chapter 7 and his letter to the exiles in chapter 29 are among the most quoted passages in Scripture. The book also carries the promise of a new covenant written on the heart, made in the middle of a story that is falling apart.
What to watch for. Watch the tension between Jeremiah's call and his cost, and read chapter 31 slowly. Notice that the new covenant is promised while the old one is being broken, not after everything is repaired.
Jeremiah 32
1The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh 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; and 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, ‘Yahweh says, “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 see his eyes; 5and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he shall be there until I visit him,” says Yahweh: “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper?”’”
6Jeremiah said, “Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 7‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle shall 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 Yahweh’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 Yahweh’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 subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard. 13“I commanded Baruch before them, saying, 14Yahweh 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 continue many days.’ 15For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.’
16Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to Yahweh, saying, 17“Ah Lord Yahweh! 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, 18who show loving kindness to thousands, and recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Yahweh of Armies is his name; 19great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons 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, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and 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; 23and they came in, and possessed it, but they didn’t obey your voice, neither walked 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, the mounds, they have come to the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what you have spoken has happened; and behold, you see it. 25You have said to me, Lord Yahweh, ‘Buy the field for money, and call witnesses;’ whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.”
26Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying, 27“Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? 28Therefore Yahweh says: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: 29and the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, shall 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 Yahweh.
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; 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. 33They have turned to me the back, and not the face: and though 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, neither did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.”
36Now therefore Yahweh, 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, and 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, 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 forever, for their good, and of their children after them: 40and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and 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 Yahweh says: “Like as I have brought all this great evil on this people, so will I bring on them all the good that I have promised them. 43Fields shall 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 shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South: for I will cause their captivity to return,” says Yahweh.
Jeremiah 33
1Moreover Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying, 2“Yahweh who does it, Yahweh who forms it to establish it; Yahweh is his name, says: 3‘Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don’t know.’ 4For Yahweh, the God of Israel, says concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are broken down to make a defense against the mounds and against the sword; 5while men come to fight with the Chaldeans, and to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have killed in my anger and in my wrath, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my face from this city:
6‘Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth. 7I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. 8I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, by which they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, by which they have sinned against me, and by which they have transgressed against me. 9This city shall be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and for a glory, before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do to them, and shall fear and tremble for all the good and for all the peace that I procure to it.’” 10Yahweh says: “Yet again there shall be heard in this place, about which you say, ‘It is waste, without man and without animal, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal,’
11the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever;’ who bring thanksgiving into Yahweh’s house. For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first,” says Yahweh. 12Yahweh of Armies says: “Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. 13In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the South, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks again pass under the hands of him who counts them,” says Yahweh. 14“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah. 15“In those days, and at that time, I will cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he will execute justice and righteousness in the land.
16In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely; and this is the name by which she shall be called: Yahweh our righteousness.” 17For Yahweh says: “David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to burn meal offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.” 19Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying, 20“Yahweh says: ‘If you can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season;
21then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22As the army of the sky can’t be counted, neither the sand of the sea measured; so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levites who minister to me.’” 23Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying, 24“Don’t consider what this people has spoken, saying, ‘The two families which Yahweh chose, he has cast them off?’ Thus they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.” 25Yahweh says: “If my covenant of day and night fails, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
26then I will also cast away the offspring of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his offspring to be rulers over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.”
Jeremiah 34
1The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of it, saying: 2“Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Yahweh says, “Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. 3You won’t escape out of his hand, but will surely be taken, and delivered into his hand. Your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he will speak with you mouth to mouth. You will go to Babylon.”’ 4“Yet hear Yahweh’s word, O Zedekiah king of Judah: Yahweh says concerning you, ‘You won’t die by the sword. 5You will die in peace; and with the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will make a burning for you. They shall lament you, saying, “Ah Lord!” for I have spoken the word,’ says Yahweh.”
6Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7when the king of Babylon’s army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these alone remained of the cities of Judah as fortified cities. 8The word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, after king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them; 9that every man should let his male servant, and every man his female servant, who is a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free; that no one should make bondservants of them, of a Jew his brother. 10All the princes and all the people obeyed, who had entered into the covenant, that everyone should let his male servant, and everyone his female servant, go free, that no one should make bondservants of them any more; they obeyed, and let them go:
11but afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. 12Therefore Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 13“Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: ‘I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, 14At the end of seven years, every man of you shall release his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you, and has served you six years. You shall let him go free from you; but your fathers didn’t listen to me, and didn’t incline their ear. 15You had now turned, and had done that which is right in my eyes, in every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name;
16but you turned and profaned my name, and every man caused his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom you had let go free at their pleasure, to return; and you brought them into subjection, to be to you for servants and for handmaids.’” 17Therefore Yahweh says: “You have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim to you a liberty,” says Yahweh, “to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine. I will make you be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth. 18I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts: 19the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf; 20I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth.
21“I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hands of their enemies, into the hands of those who seek their life, and into the hands of the king of Babylon’s army, who has gone away from you. 22Behold, I will command,” says Yahweh, “and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, take it, and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
Jeremiah 35
1The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2“Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into Yahweh’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.” 3Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; 4and I brought them into Yahweh’s house, into the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the room of the princes, which was above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold. 5I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine!”
6But they said, “We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons, forever. 7You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, or have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land in which you live.’ 8We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters; 9and not to build houses for ourselves to dwell in. We have no vineyard, field, or seed; 10but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we will dwell at Jerusalem.’” 12Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying, 13“Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Go, and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words?” says Yahweh. 14“The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me. 15I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Return now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and don’t go after other gods to serve them, and you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers:’ but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.
16The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me.”’ 17“Therefore Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.’” 18Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you;’ 19therefore Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before me forever.’”
Next · Day 249: Jeremiah 36–38 →
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), a public-domain translation. Day numbering follows the calendar year; you can start at Day 1 on any date.
