17. “Lord GOD, with your great power you made the earth and the sky. There is nothing too hard for you to do.
18. You are loyal and kind to thousands of people, but you also bring punishment to children for their fathers’ sins. Great and powerful God, your name is the Lord All-Powerful.
19. You plan and do great things. You see everything that people do. You give a reward to those who do good things, and you punish those who do bad things—you give them what they deserve.
20. You have been doing powerful miracles in the land of Egypt until now, in Israel and elsewhere. You are the one who made yourself as famous as you are today.
21. You used powerful miracles and brought your people Israel out of Egypt. You used your own powerful hand to do this. Your power was amazing!
22. “You gave the Israelites this land that you promised to give to their ancestors long ago. It is a very good land filled with many good things.
23. They came into this land and took it for their own. But they didn’t obey you. They didn’t follow your teachings or do what you commanded. So you made all these terrible things happen to them.
24. “And now the enemy has surrounded the city. They are building ramps so that they can get over the walls of Jerusalem and capture it. Because of war, hunger, and disease, the city of Jerusalem will fall to the Babylonian army. The Babylonians are attacking the city now. You said this would happen, and now you see it is happening.
25. “Lord GOD, all those bad things are happening. But now you are telling me, ‘Jeremiah, buy the field with silver and choose some men to witness the purchase.’ You are telling me this while the Babylonian army is ready to capture the city. Why should I waste my money like that?”
26. Then this message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:
27. “Jeremiah, I am the Lord. I am the God of every person on the earth. You know that nothing is impossible for me.”
28. The Lord also said, “I will soon give the city of Jerusalem to the Babylonian army and to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The army will capture the city.