Jeremiah prays about the land that he has bought
16 After I had given Baruch the pieces of paper about the sale of land, I prayed to the Lord.
17 I said, ‘Lord God, you used your great power and strength to make the earth and the sky. Nothing is too difficult for you to do. 18 You show your faithful love to thousands of people. But you also punish people for the sins that their ancestors did in past times. You are the great and powerful God, the Lord Almighty.
19 You have wise thoughts and you do great things. You see everything that people do. You see how they live. You give everyone what they deserve. 20 You did powerful miracles in Egypt, and we still remember them today. In this way you continue to be famous in Israel and everywhere in the world. 21 You used your great power and strength to bring your people out of Egypt. You did miracles that showed your power. It caused the Egyptians to be very afraid. 22 You gave this land to the Israelites, as you had promised to their ancestors. It was a land where there was plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. 23 Your people moved in to the land and they made it their home. But they did not obey you. They did not live in the way that your law taught them. They did not do the things that you commanded them to do. Because of that, you caused them to have all this terrible trouble.
24 Babylon's army have already put heaps of earth around the city's walls. They are ready to attack us. War, famine and disease will soon kill us. Babylon's soldiers will come into the city and take it for themselves. Lord, you warned us that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already happening. 25 I know that Babylon's army will soon get power over the city. But you still told me to use my silver to buy that field. And people watched me write my name on the paper.’
