15. The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, "Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land." '
16. "I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch, the son of Neriah. Then I prayed to the Lord. I said,
17. " 'Lord and King, you have reached out your great and powerful arm. You have made the heavens and the earth. Nothing is too hard for you.
18. " 'You show your love to thousands of people. But you punish children for the sins of their fathers. Great and powerful God, your name is The Lord Who Rules Over All.
19. Your purposes are great. Your acts are mighty. Your eyes see everything people do. You reward each one of them in keeping with his conduct. You do it based on what he has done.
20. " 'You performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt. And you have continued to do them to this very day. You have done them in Israel and among all people. You are still known for doing them.
21. You brought your people Israel out of Egypt. You did it with miraculous signs and wonders. You reached out your mighty hand and powerful arm. You did great and wonderful things.
22. " 'You gave Israel this land. Long before that, you took an oath. You promised to give their people a land that had plenty of milk and honey.
23. They came in and took it over. But they did not obey you. They didn't follow your law. They didn't do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all of this trouble on them.
24. " 'See how ramps are built up against Jerusalem's walls to attack it. The city will be handed over to the armies of Babylonia. They are attacking it. It will fall because of war, hunger and plague. What you said would happen is now happening, as you can see.
25. Lord and King, the city will be handed over to the armies of Babylonia. In spite of that, you tell me to buy a field. You say, "Pay for it with silver. And have the sale witnessed." ' "
26. Then a message came to me from the Lord. He said,
27. "I am the Lord. I am the God of all people. Is anything too hard for me?"
28. So the Lord says, "I am about to hand this city over to the armies of Babylonia. I will give it to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. He will capture it.
29. The armies of Babylonia are now attacking this city. They will come in and set it on fire. They will burn it down. They will burn up the houses where the people made me very angry. They burned incense on their roofs to the god Baal. And they poured out drink offerings to other gods.
30. "The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight. They have done it since the nation was young. In fact, they have done nothing but make me very angry. They have worshiped statues of gods their own hands have made," announces the Lord.
31. "This city has always stirred up my burning anger. It has done it since the day it was built. Now I must remove it from my sight.
32. "The people of Israel and Judah have made me very angry. They have done many evil things. They, their kings and officials have sinned. So have their priests and prophets. And the people of Judah and Jerusalem have also sinned.
33. They turned their backs to me. They would not face me. I taught them again and again. But they would not listen or pay attention when they were corrected.