3. Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had made me a prisoner there. He had said to me, "Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, 'The Lord says, "I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylonia. He will capture it.
4. " ' "Zedekiah, the king of Judah, will not escape from the powerful hands of the armies of Babylonia. He will certainly be handed over to the king of Babylonia. Zedekiah will speak with him face to face. He will see him with his own eyes.
5. Nebuchadnezzar will take Zedekiah to Babylon. Zedekiah will remain there until I deal with him," announces the Lord. "Suppose you fight against the armies of Babylonia. If you do, you will not succeed." ' "
6. I said, "A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
7. 'Hanamel is going to come to you. He is the son of your uncle Shallum. Hanamel will say, "Buy my field at Anathoth. You are my closest relative. So it's your right and duty to buy it." '
8. "Then my cousin Hanamel came to me. I was in the courtyard of the guard. It happened just as the Lord had said it would. Hanamel said, 'Buy my field at Anathoth. It is in the territory of Benjamin. It is your right to buy it and own it. So buy it for yourself.' "I knew that this was the Lord's message.
9. So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver for him.
10. I signed and sealed the deed of purchase. I had some people witness everything. And I weighed out the silver on the scales.
11. "There were two copies of the deed. One was sealed and the other wasn't. The deed included the terms and conditions of the sale.
12. I gave Baruch the copies of the deed. My cousin Hanamel saw me do it. The witnesses who had signed the deed were there too. So were all of the Jews who were sitting in the courtyard of the guard. Baruch was the son of Neriah. Neriah was the son of Mahseiah.
13. "I gave Baruch directions in front of all of them. I said,
14. 'The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, "Take this deed of purchase. Take the sealed and unsealed copies. Put them in a clay jar. Then they will last a long time."
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.