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Jeremiah 32

ירמיהו פרק ל״ב

Section: נביאים · נביאים אחרונים | Book: Jeremiah | Chapter: 32 of 52 | Day: 245 of 742

Date: October 14, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 32 is the great narrative centerpiece of the Book of Consolation (ספר הנחמה), the cluster of hopeful prophecies that begins in chapter 30. Where chapters 30 and 31 speak in soaring poetry of Rachel weeping for her children and a new covenant written on the heart, chapter 32 brings that hope down to earth in the most concrete form imaginable: a land deal, a deed in duplicate, seventeen shekels of silver weighed on a scale, and a clay jar to keep the paperwork safe. The date is precise and grim. It is the tenth year of Tzidkiyahu, the eighteenth of Nevuchadnetzar, and the army of Bavel has already ringed Jerusalem. The prophet himself is not free to walk the streets. He is confined in the court of the guard (חצר המטרה), which Rashi and Radak both explain as the place where prisoners were kept under watch, attached to the king’s own palace.

The opening verses take pains to explain why he is there. Tzidkiyahu has locked him up for prophesying that the city will be handed to the king of Bavel, that the king of Yehudah will not escape the Kasdim, that he will see the conqueror eye to eye and speak to him mouth to mouth, and that he will be taken to Bavel until God remembers him (עד פקדי אותו). Rashi, Radak and Metzudat David all read that last phrase as a delicate reference to death, the visitation that comes to every living thing; The narrative is built with a pause in the middle. Rashi observes that the words and Yirmiyahu said (ויאמר ירמיהו) in verse 6 are not addressed to Tzidkiyahu at all; the text has digressed to explain the imprisonment and now returns to its first sentence, the word that came to Yirmiyahu in the tenth year. The effect is deliberate: before we hear the word of hope, we are made to sit in the prisoner’s cell and feel the siege around it.

The word itself is strangely ordinary. Chanamel, son of the prophet’s uncle Shallum, will come and ask him to buy his field in Anatot, because the right of redemption (משפט הגאולה) belongs to him. Metzudat David connects this at once to the law of Vayikra 25 and to the scene in Rut 4, where Boaz offers the nearer kinsman the field of Elimelech: a family’s land must not pass to strangers, and the closest relative has both the right and the duty to buy it. Chanamel arrives exactly as foretold, and only then does Yirmiyahu write, I knew that this was the word of the LORD. Radak takes this as the prophet’s realization that the purchase itself is divinely intended, since otherwise why would God have announced the visit in advance; Metzudat David reads it the same way.

The transaction is described with a lawyer’s care. The price is seventeen shekels of silver; Radak and Metzudat David, following Targum Yonatan, understand the sum as seven maneh and ten sela, a substantial amount. Yirmiyahu writes a deed, seals it, summons witnesses, and weighs the money before them. He then takes the sealed deed (החתום) and the open one (הגלוי). Rashi explains the open document as a court confirmation that publicly validated the sale in case the witnesses should die, and notes that the Sages connected the passage with the tied and the plain document (גט מקושר וגט פשוט) discussed in Bava Batra. All of it is handed to Baruch son of Neriyah in front of Chanamel, the witnesses and all the Judeans sitting in the court of the guard. The public setting matters: the whole prison yard watches a man buy land in a country that is about to be lost.

Then comes the instruction that turns a property sale into a prophetic sign. Put the documents in an earthenware vessel (כלי חרש) so that they may last many days, for houses and fields and vineyards will yet be bought in this land. Rashi supplies the unspoken objection: do not say I am hiding these for nothing, since everyone is going into exile. Metzudat David explains that clay protects its contents from rot, and Radak says the documents are meant to survive until the return of the exiles, so that the purchase itself becomes a consolation, a sign that Israel’s hope has not perished.

Yet having obeyed, the prophet prays, and his prayer is one of the most striking in the book because it is a prayer of bewilderment. It opens with doxology: Ah, Lord GOD (אהה), You made heaven and earth by Your great power, nothing is too wondrous for You (לא יפלא ממך כל דבר). Rashi and Radak preserve the rabbinic observation from Yoma that Yirmiyahu calls God great and mighty but omits awesome (הנורא), because strangers were dancing in His sanctuary and the prophet asked where His awesomeness was. The prayer then recounts the Exodus, the gift of the land flowing with milk and honey, and the people’s failure to listen, and arrives at the siege mounds rising against the walls. Only in the last verse does the real question surface: and You said to me, buy the field for money and call witnesses, while the city is given into the hand of the Kasdim. Metzudat David notes that the prophet had himself told Baruch the purchase was a sign; his question comes from his own heart. The prayer is a model of faith that does not suppress doubt but brings it, framed in praise, before God.

God’s answer begins by turning the prophet’s own words back on him. Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too wondrous for Me (הממני יפלא כל דבר)? Rashi reads it as a rhetorical question about the future: are coming events hidden from Me? Radak explains the full answer: indeed nothing is hidden, the city will fall because My anger has not turned away, and nevertheless I told you to buy the field as a comfort, that they will return and buy fields and houses. The divine reply then proceeds in two movements. The first, verses 28 to 35, confirms the doom in the harshest terms of the book. The Kasdim will set the city on fire, together with the houses on whose roofs incense was offered to the Baal; Israel and Yehudah have done only evil from their youth; this city has provoked God’s anger from the day it was built. Rashi and Radak cite the midrash that on the day the foundation of the Temple was laid, Shlomo married the daughter of Pharaoh, and Radak adds that the high places and the worship of Shlomo’s wives date from the same period. The indictment climaxes with abominations placed in the house called by God’s name and the high places in the valley of Ben Hinnom where children were passed through fire to Molech, which I did not command and which did not enter My mind.

The second movement, beginning with ועתה לכן in verse 36, pivots on a single word. Precisely concerning this city of which you say it is given to the king of Bavel by sword, famine and pestilence, God will gather them from all the lands, bring them back to this place and settle them securely. Radak states plainly that this section refers to the return after the seventy years of the Babylonian exile. The vocabulary of chapters 30 and 31 returns: they will be My people and I will be their God, I will give them one heart and one way (לב אחד ודרך אחד), an everlasting covenant (ברית עולם) in which God will not turn away from doing them good and will put His fear in their hearts so that they do not turn from Him. God will rejoice over them and plant them in this land in truth, with all His heart and soul.

The chapter ends exactly where its narrative began, now raised to the scale of a nation. Fields will be bought in this land of which you say it is desolate, without man or beast; men will buy fields for money, write deeds, seal them and call witnesses, in the land of Binyamin, around Jerusalem, in the cities of Yehudah, of the hills, the lowland and the Negev. Metzudat David closes the circle explicitly: this is why God commanded him to buy Chanamel’s field, as a sign that fields would again be bought when they returned from Bavel. The lesson of the chapter is that hope in Tanakh is not an abstraction but an act. On the eve of destruction, a prisoner spends real silver on land he will never farm, in a country about to be emptied, and seals the receipt in a jar. That small act of investment in a future he could not see became one of the enduring images of Jewish faith in redemption.

פרק ל״ב · Chapter 32

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

הַדָּבָ֞ר אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֤ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙ מֵאֵ֣ת יְהֹוָ֔ה (בשנת) [בַּשָּׁנָה֙] הָעֲשִׂרִ֔ית לְצִדְקִיָּ֖הוּ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה הִ֧יא הַשָּׁנָ֛ה שְׁמֹנֶֽה־עֶשְׂרֵ֥ה שָׁנָ֖ה לִנְבֽוּכַדְרֶאצַּֽר׃

English:

The word that came to Jeremiah from GOD in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

The chapter is dated with unusual precision to the tenth year of Tzidkiyahu, which Metzudat David calculates as the eighteenth of Nevuchadnetzar: eight years under Yehoyakim, the brief reign of Yechonyah, then ten of Tzidkiyahu. Radak notes that this opening clause is left hanging until verse 6, where the actual word -- the matter of Chanamel's field -- is finally spelled out after a digression explaining why the prophet was in prison.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וְאָ֗ז חֵ֚יל מֶ֣לֶךְ בָּבֶ֔ל צָרִ֖ים עַל־יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם וְיִרְמְיָ֣הוּ הַנָּבִ֗יא הָיָ֤ה כָלוּא֙ בַּחֲצַ֣ר הַמַּטָּרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בֵּֽית־מֶ֥לֶךְ יְהוּדָֽה׃

English:

At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the prison compound attached to the palace of the king of Judah.

The setting is the darkest possible: Bavel's army is besieging Jerusalem and Yirmiyahu is confined in the court of the guard (חצר המטרה). Rashi and Radak explain the term as the place where prisoners were kept under watch, and Metzudat David adds that the siege began in Tzidkiyahu's ninth year and the city fell in his eleventh. The hopeful word of this chapter is spoken from a prison, in the middle of a siege.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
צרים. לשון מצור: בחצר המטרה. לשון בית המשמר:
was besieging an expression of a siege (מָצוֹר). in the prison yard an expression of "the prison" (בֵּית הַמִֹּשְמָר).

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

אֲשֶׁ֣ר כְּלָא֔וֹ צִדְקִיָּ֥הוּ מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר מַדּ֩וּעַ֩ אַתָּ֨ה נִבָּ֜א לֵאמֹ֗ר כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה הִנְנִ֨י נֹתֵ֜ן אֶת־הָעִ֥יר הַזֹּ֛את בְּיַ֥ד מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֖ל וּלְכָדָֽהּ׃

English:

For King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him, saying, “How dare you prophesy: ‘Thus said GOD: I am delivering this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.

The narrator explains the imprisonment. Tzidkiyahu has locked Yirmiyahu up because of his message, and Metzudat David reads the verse as the king's own accusation: why do you prophesy that God will give this city into the hand of the king of Bavel? The king treats the prophecy as a political crime, as though silencing the messenger could change the outcome he announces.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וְצִדְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יְהוּדָ֔ה לֹ֥א יִמָּלֵ֖ט מִיַּ֣ד הַכַּשְׂדִּ֑ים כִּ֣י הִנָּתֹ֤ן יִנָּתֵן֙ בְּיַ֣ד מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֔ל וְדִבֶּר־פִּ֣יו עִם־פִּ֔יו וְעֵינָ֖יו אֶת־עֵינָ֥ו תִּרְאֶֽינָה׃

English:

And King Zedekiah of Judah shall not escape from the Chaldeans; he shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak to him face to face and see him in person.

The prophecy that so angered the king is personal: Tzidkiyahu will not escape the Kasdim but will meet the king of Bavel face to face. Metzudat David points ahead to chapter 39, where this meeting is fulfilled when Nevuchadnetzar pronounces judgment on him. Radak comments only on the grammar of the emphatic doubled verb (הנתון ינתן), which underlines the certainty of the outcome.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וּבָבֶ֞ל יוֹלִ֤ךְ אֶת־צִדְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ וְשָׁ֣ם יִֽהְיֶ֔ה עַד־פׇּקְדִ֥י אֹת֖וֹ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה כִּ֧י תִֽלָּחֲמ֛וּ אֶת־הַכַּשְׂדִּ֖ים לֹ֥א תַצְלִֽיחוּ׃ {פ}

English:

And Zedekiah shall be brought to Babylon, there to remain until I take note of him—declares GOD. When you wage war against the Chaldeans, you shall not be successful.’”

Tzidkiyahu will be taken to Bavel and remain there until God remembers him (עד פקדי אותו). Rashi, Metzudat David and Radak all read this as a gentle reference to his death, the visitation that comes to every living being. Metzudat David adds that the warning against fighting the Kasdim implies its positive counterpart: accept the yoke of Bavel rather than resist, the counsel Yirmiyahu has given since chapter 27.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
עד פקדי אותו. פקודת כל האדם היא המיתה:
until I remember him The remembrance of all mankind. That is death.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֖אמֶר יִרְמְיָ֑הוּ הָיָ֥ה דְבַר־יְהֹוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Jeremiah said: The word of GOD came to me:

Having explained the imprisonment, the text resumes its opening sentence. Rashi stresses that Yirmiyahu is not speaking to Tzidkiyahu here; the verse simply returns to the word mentioned in verse 1. Metzudat David explains that because the account of the siege ran long, the narrative restates that the word of God came to him, while Radak already begins to identify the figures of the coming revelation.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ויאמר ירמיהו וגו'. לא לצדקיהו אמר כן אלא פי' הכתוב למה כלאו וחוזר לדבורו הראשון לפרש מה הדבר אשר הי' אל ירמיהו:
And Jeremiah said, etc. He did not say this to Zedekiah but Scripture explained why he imprisoned him and then returned to its first statement to explain what the word was that came to Jeremiah.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

הִנֵּ֣ה חֲנַמְאֵ֗ל בֶּן־שַׁלֻּם֙ דֹּֽדְךָ֔ בָּ֥א אֵלֶ֖יךָ לֵאמֹ֑ר קְנֵ֣ה לְךָ֗ אֶת־שָׂדִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּעֲנָת֔וֹת כִּ֥י לְךָ֛ מִשְׁפַּ֥ט הַגְּאֻלָּ֖ה לִקְנֽוֹת׃

English:

Hanamel, the son of your uncle Shallum, will come to you and say, “Buy my land in Anathoth, for you are next in succession to redeem it by purchase.”

God forewarns Yirmiyahu that his cousin Chanamel will ask him to buy his field in Anatot, because the right of redemption (משפט הגאולה) is his. Metzudat David compares the law that land should stay within the family to Boaz offering the kinsman Elimelech's field in Rut 4. Radak explains that even if Chanamel sold it elsewhere, Yirmiyahu would have the right to redeem it, so he is the natural buyer.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
בא אליך. על פי הדבור:
is coming By Divine command.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹ֣א אֵ֠לַ֠י חֲנַמְאֵ֨ל בֶּן־דֹּדִ֜י כִּדְבַ֣ר יְהֹוָה֮ אֶל־חֲצַ֣ר הַמַּטָּרָה֒ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלַ֡י קְנֵ֣ה נָ֠א אֶת־שָׂדִ֨י אֲשֶׁר־בַּעֲנָת֜וֹת אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ בִּנְיָמִ֗ין כִּֽי־לְךָ֞ מִשְׁפַּ֧ט הַיְרֻשָּׁ֛ה וּלְךָ֥ הַגְּאֻלָּ֖ה קְנֵה־לָ֑ךְ וָאֵדַ֕ע כִּ֥י דְבַר־יְהֹוָ֖ה הֽוּא׃

English:

And just as GOD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the prison compound and said to me, “Please buy my land in Anathoth, in the territory of Benjamin; for the right of succession is yours, and you have the duty of redemption. Buy it.” Then I knew that it was indeed the word of GOD.

Chanamel arrives just as foretold, using almost the same words, and only now does Yirmiyahu write: I knew that this was the word of the LORD. Radak explains that he understood the purchase itself was God's intention, for otherwise why announce the visit in advance. Metzudat David adds that Chanamel stressed the right of inheritance -- there was no closer relative -- so the field would not pass to strangers.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וָֽאֶקְנֶה֙ אֶת־הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה מֵאֵ֛ת חֲנַמְאֵ֥ל בֶּן־דֹּדִ֖י אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּעֲנָת֑וֹת וָֽאֶשְׁקְלָה־לּוֹ֙ אֶת־הַכֶּ֔סֶף שִׁבְעָ֥ה שְׁקָלִ֖ים וַעֲשָׂרָ֥ה הַכָּֽסֶף׃

English:

So I bought the land in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.

Yirmiyahu buys the field and weighs out the silver. Following Targum Yonatan, Metzudat David and Radak understand the phrase seven shekels and ten of silver as seven maneh and ten sela, a substantial sum. The detail matters: this is no token gesture but a real investment of money in land that, at that moment, everyone around him regarded as already lost.

פסוק י׳ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וָאֶכְתֹּ֤ב בַּסֵּ֙פֶר֙ וָֽאֶחְתֹּ֔ם וָאָעֵ֖ד עֵדִ֑ים וָאֶשְׁקֹ֥ל הַכֶּ֖סֶף בְּמֹאזְנָֽיִם׃

English:

I wrote a deed, sealed it, and had it witnessed; and I weighed out the silver on a balance.

The sale is completed with full legal formality: a written deed, a seal, witnesses and silver weighed on scales. Metzudat David explains that the owner signed the deed and witnesses were summoned to observe, and Radak notes that the silver is weighed again before the witnesses so that no dispute could ever arise about the amount. The care taken over every detail is itself part of the prophetic message.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וָאֶקַּ֖ח אֶת־סֵ֣פֶר הַמִּקְנָ֑ה אֶת־הֶֽחָת֛וּם הַמִּצְוָ֥ה וְהַחֻקִּ֖ים וְאֶת־הַגָּלֽוּי׃

English:

I took the deed of purchase, the sealed text and the open one according to rule and law,

Yirmiyahu takes both the sealed deed and the open one (הגלוי). Rashi explains the open document as a court's confirmation that made the sale public in case the witnesses died, and cites the Sages' connection to the tied and plain documents of Bava Batra. Radak offers a sealed copy kept intact and an open copy for reading, and Metzudat David a record that the sale was public and unchallenged.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
את ספר המקנה. שטר המכירה: את החתום וגו'. עם חתימתו כשהוא חתום כדת וחוק: ואת הגלוי. שהוחזק בבית דין על פי עדיו וכתבו וחתמו הדיינין אשרתא דדייני הוא קיום השטרות לעשות הדבר גלוי ומפורסם פן ימותו העדים ורבותינו פירשו לענין גט פשוט ומקושר בבבא בתרא:
the deed of the purchase The deed of the sale. that which was signed, etc. With its signature as it was signed according so the law and the statute. and that which was open Which was confirmed in the court by word of its witnesses, and the judges wrote and signed a judicial confirmation. This is the confirmation of the deeds to make the matter open and publicized lest the witnesses die, and our Rabbis explained this concerning a plain, open document and a folded one in Baba Bathra (160b).

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וָאֶתֵּ֞ן אֶת־הַסֵּ֣פֶר הַמִּקְנָ֗ה אֶל־בָּר֣וּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּה֮ בֶּן־מַחְסֵיָה֒ לְעֵינֵי֙ חֲנַמְאֵ֣ל דֹּדִ֔י וּלְעֵינֵי֙ הָֽעֵדִ֔ים הַכֹּתְבִ֖ים בְּסֵ֣פֶר הַמִּקְנָ֑ה לְעֵינֵי֙ כׇּל־הַיְּהוּדִ֔ים הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖ים בַּחֲצַ֥ר הַמַּטָּרָֽה׃

English:

and gave the deed to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah in the presence of my kinsman Hanamel, of the witnesses who were named in the deed, and all the Judeans who were sitting in the prison compound.

The deeds are handed to Baruch son of Neriyah before Chanamel, the witnesses and all the Judeans in the court of the guard. Rashi admits frank uncertainty about why Chanamel is now called the prophet's uncle (דודי) after being called his cousin, suggesting a family tree in which he was both. Radak and Metzudat David propose that dodi here means cousin, or that this Chanamel was a different relative.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
לעיני חנמאל דודי. ועד עכשיו קראו בן דודי שמא שנים היו ואם אין זאת לא ידעתי מהו ויש נוטים לומר דודו ובן דודו היה חנמאל לירמיה כגון ראובן נשא את בת שמעון אחיו וילדה לו נמואל וכבר הוליד שמעון ימין הרי ימין דודו לנמואל שבן אחי אמו הוא וגם בן דודו שהוא בן שמעון אחי אביו של נמואל ואינה היא המדה שלא מצינו בכל המקרא אח האם קרוי דוד:
in the presence of Hanamel my uncle And until now, he calls him "my uncle's son." Perhaps there were two. Otherwise, I do not know what it means. Some are inclined to say that Hanamel was both Jeremiah's uncle and his uncle's son; e.g. Reuben married the daughter of his brother Simon, and she bore him Jemuel, and Simon had already begotten Jamin. Hence, Jamin is Jemuel's uncle, since he is his mother's brother, and also his uncle's son, since he is the son of Simon, Jemuel's father's brother. This is, however, not the method of expression, for we do not find anywhere in the Bible, that the mother's brother is called an uncle.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וָאֲצַוֶּה֙ אֶת־בָּר֔וּךְ לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

In their presence I charged Baruch as follows:

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

כֹּה־אָמַר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה צְבָא֜וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לָק֣וֹחַ אֶת־הַסְּפָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֡לֶּה אֵ֣ת סֵ֩פֶר֩ הַמִּקְנָ֨ה הַזֶּ֜ה וְאֵ֣ת הֶחָת֗וּם וְאֵ֨ת סֵ֤פֶר הַגָּלוּי֙ הַזֶּ֔ה וּנְתַתָּ֖ם בִּכְלִי־חָ֑רֶשׂ לְמַ֥עַן יַעַמְד֖וּ יָמִ֥ים רַבִּֽים׃ {ס}         

English:

Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Take these documents, this deed of purchase, the sealed text and the open one, and put them into an earthen jar, so that they may last a long time.”

Baruch is told to place both documents in an earthenware vessel (כלי חרש) so they will last many days. Rashi supplies the unspoken objection: do not say I am storing these for nothing since everyone is going into exile. Metzudat David notes that clay protects documents from decay, and Radak says they must last until the exiles return, making the purchase a consolation that Israel's hope has not perished.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
כה אמר וגו'. אל תאמר לחנם אני מצניעם שהרי הכל גולים:
So said, etc. Do not say that I am concealing them for nothing since everyone is going into exile.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

כִּ֣י כֹ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהֹוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל ע֣וֹד יִקָּנ֥וּ בָתִּ֛ים וְשָׂד֥וֹת וּכְרָמִ֖ים בָּאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּֽאת׃ {פ}

English:

For thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Houses, fields, and vineyards shall again be purchased in this land.”

The reason for the jar is stated outright: houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land. Rashi glosses it simply -- in the end they will buy houses. Metzudat David explains that Yirmiyahu understood the purchase as a sign that the land would not pass permanently into Babylonian hands, since the people would return. The single private transaction becomes a pledge about the nation's future.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
כי כה אמר ה'. סופן לקנות בתים:
For so says the Lord They will ultimately purchase houses.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וָאֶתְפַּלֵּ֖ל אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה אַחֲרֵ֤י תִתִּי֙ אֶת־סֵ֣פֶר הַמִּקְנָ֔ה אֶל־בָּר֥וּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

But after I had given the deed to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to GOD:

After handing the deed to Baruch, Yirmiyahu turns to prayer. Metzudat David notes that the deed of purchase stands for both documents, the main one mentioned for brevity. Having obeyed without hesitation, the prophet now brings his bewilderment before God -- a pattern of faith that acts first and asks afterward, and that does not hide its questions.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

אֲהָהּ֮ אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִה֒ הִנֵּ֣ה ׀ אַתָּ֣ה עָשִׂ֗יתָ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וְאֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ בְּכֹֽחֲךָ֙ הַגָּד֔וֹל וּבִֽזְרֹעֲךָ֖ הַנְּטוּיָ֑ה לֹֽא־יִפָּלֵ֥א מִמְּךָ֖ כׇּל־דָּבָֽר׃

English:

“Ah, my Sovereign GOD! You made heaven and earth with Your great might and outstretched arm. Nothing is too wondrous for You!

The prayer opens with a cry (אהה) and a confession of God's power as Creator: nothing is too wondrous for You (לא יפלא ממך כל דבר). Metzudat David hears distress in the cry, the prophet troubled at not understanding the purchase. Rashi and Radak explain the confession as an admission that God already knows the city will fall -- so why command the purchase? Radak suggests he hoped God's anger had turned.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
לא יפלא. לא יכחד ויודע אתה שסופנו לגלות ולמה אמרת לי לקנות שדה:
nothing is hidden from You Nothing is hidden; hence You know that we are destined to be exiled, so why did You tell me to buy a field?

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

עֹ֤שֶׂה חֶ֙סֶד֙ לַֽאֲלָפִ֔ים וּמְשַׁלֵּם֙ עֲוֺ֣ן אָב֔וֹת אֶל־חֵ֥יק בְּנֵיהֶ֖ם אַחֲרֵיהֶ֑ם הָאֵ֤ל הַגָּדוֹל֙ הַגִּבּ֔וֹר יְהֹוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת שְׁמֽוֹ׃

English:

You show kindness to the thousandth generation, but visit the guilt of the parents upon their children after them. O great and mighty God whose name is GOD of Hosts,

Yirmiyahu recalls the attributes from the Torah: kindness to thousands, and repayment of the fathers' sin into the bosom of their children. Radak and Metzudat David add the rabbinic qualification -- when children continue their parents' deeds. Rashi and Radak cite the Sages' teaching that he called God great and mighty but omitted awesome (הנורא), since strangers were reveling in His sanctuary: where then is His awesomeness?
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ומשלם עון אבות אל חיק. הדור הזה ההולכים אחרי אבותיהם בדרך הרעה: הגדול הגבור. ולא אמר והנורא אמר עובדי אלילים מרקדין בהיכלו איה נוראותיו במסכת יומא:
and requites the iniquity of the fathers in the bosom Of this generation who follow their ancestors in their evil way. Great and Mighty But he did not say, "and awesome." He said. Heathens are dancing in His Temple. Where then are His awesome deeds? In Tractate Yoma (69b).

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

גְּדֹל֙ הָֽעֵצָ֔ה וְרַ֖ב הָעֲלִֽילִיָּ֑ה אֲשֶׁר־עֵינֶ֣יךָ פְקֻח֗וֹת עַל־כׇּל־דַּרְכֵי֙ בְּנֵ֣י אָדָ֔ם לָתֵ֤ת לְאִישׁ֙ כִּדְרָכָ֔יו וְכִפְרִ֖י מַעֲלָלָֽיו׃

English:

wondrous in purpose and mighty in deed, whose eyes observe all the ways of mortals, so as to repay each one according to their ways, and with the proper fruit of their deeds!

God is great in counsel and mighty in deed, His eyes open on every human path, repaying each according to his ways and the fruit of his deeds. Radak notes the contrast with those who said the LORD does not see us. Metzudat David explains the fruit of deeds as consequences a person did not intend, for which he is still held to account -- a sobering principle on the eve of judgment.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֠מְתָּ אֹת֨וֹת וּמֹפְתִ֤ים בְּאֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ עַד־הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה וּבְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וּבָאָדָ֑ם וַתַּעֲשֶׂה־לְּךָ֥ שֵׁ֖ם כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

You displayed signs and marvels in the land of Egypt with lasting effect, and won renown in Israel and among humankind to this very day.

The prayer turns to history: signs and wonders in Egypt that are remembered to this day. Rashi, Metzudat David and Radak all cite the midrash that the same wonder brought darkness to Egypt and light to Israel, as at the sea where the cloud was dark to one camp and lit the night for the other. Radak adds that through these wonders the nations came to know God, whether they wished to or not.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ובאדם. בשאר אנשים, ד"א אותות שהיו שקולין לישראל ולמצרים כיצד ויהי הענן והחשך ויאר הלילה (שמות י״ד:כ׳) אותו מזל ששימש חשך למצרים שימש אור לישראל מדרש אגדה:
and in mankind And in other people. Another explanation: Signs that were equal for Israel and for the Egyptians. How so? "And there was the cloud and the darkness, and it illuminated the night" (Exodus 14:20). That guardian angel that served darkness for the Egyptians, served light for the Israelites Midrash Aggadah (source unknown). And Jonathan renders: And for Israel You performed wonders among people.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וַתֹּצֵ֛א אֶת־עַמְּךָ֥ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם בְּאֹת֣וֹת וּבְמוֹפְתִ֗ים וּבְיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ וּבְאֶזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבְמוֹרָ֖א גָּדֽוֹל׃

English:

You freed Your people Israel from the land of Egypt with signs and marvels, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.

Yirmiyahu recalls the Exodus with the classic Torah language of a strong hand, an outstretched arm and great terror. Metzudat David explains the outstretched arm as an image of a warrior raising his hand against his foe, and the great terror as the fear God cast upon Egypt. Radak comments on the extra aleph in the spelling (ובאזרוע). The past deliverance stands as background for the present catastrophe.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וַתִּתֵּ֤ן לָהֶם֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתָּ לַאֲבוֹתָ֖ם לָתֵ֣ת לָהֶ֑ם אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃

English:

You gave them this land that You had sworn to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey,

God gave Israel the land sworn to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. Metzudat David describes it concretely: animals grazing on rich pasture so that milk flows from them, and dates dripping with honey. The prayer stresses that the land was a gift of covenant, which sharpens the pain of the moment when that gift is about to be taken away.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹ֜אוּ וַיִּֽרְשׁ֣וּ אֹתָ֗הּ וְלֹֽא־שָׁמְע֤וּ בְקוֹלֶ֙ךָ֙ (ובתרותך) [וּבְתוֹרָתְךָ֣] לֹא־הָלָ֔כוּ אֵת֩ כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוִּ֧יתָה לָהֶ֛ם לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת לֹ֣א עָשׂ֑וּ וַתַּקְרֵ֣א אֹתָ֔ם אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הָרָעָ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת׃

English:

and they came and took possession of it. But they did not listen to You or follow Your Teaching; they did nothing of what You commanded them to do. Therefore you have caused all this misfortune to befall them.

They came and inherited the land but did not listen or walk in God's Torah, so He brought this evil upon them. Rashi and Metzudat David read the verb ותקרא as You caused it to befall them, from the word for happening. Radak adds that the spelling with an aleph teaches that this was no mere chance event: God Himself brought it about. The disaster is judgment, not accident.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ותקרא אותם. הקרית אותם לשון מקרה:
then You caused...to come upon them You caused to happen to them, an expression of a happening (מִקְרֶה).

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

הִנֵּ֣ה הַסֹּלְל֗וֹת בָּ֣אוּ הָעִיר֮ לְלׇכְדָהּ֒ וְהָעִ֣יר נִתְּנָ֗ה בְּיַ֤ד הַכַּשְׂדִּים֙ הַנִּלְחָמִ֣ים עָלֶ֔יהָ מִפְּנֵ֛י הַחֶ֥רֶב וְהָרָעָ֖ב וְהַדָּ֑בֶר וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּ֛רְתָּ הָיָ֖ה וְהִנְּךָ֥ רֹאֶֽה׃

English:

Here are the siege mounds, raised against the city to storm it; and the city, because of sword and famine and pestilence, is at the mercy of the Chaldeans who are attacking it. What You threatened has come to pass—as You see.

The prayer reaches the present: the siege ramps (הסוללות) have reached the city, and sword, famine and pestilence have delivered it to the Kasdim. Radak, citing Targum Yonatan, explains the ramps as mounds of earth heaped against the wall for climbing. Metzudat David says the city is as good as taken, and Rashi glosses: the evil You spoke against it has come. What God foretold is fulfilled before the prophet's eyes.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ואשר דברת. רעה עליה היה ובא:
and what You have proclaimed Evil upon it has come to pass (lit., has been and has come).

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וְאַתָּ֞ה אָמַ֤רְתָּ אֵלַי֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִ֔ה קְנֵֽה־לְךָ֧ הַשָּׂדֶ֛ה בַּכֶּ֖סֶף וְהָעֵ֣ד עֵדִ֑ים וְהָעִ֥יר נִתְּנָ֖ה בְּיַ֥ד הַכַּשְׂדִּֽים׃ {ס}         

English:

Yet You, my Sovereign GOD, said to me: Buy the land for money and call in witnesses—when the city is at the mercy of the Chaldeans!”

Only now does Yirmiyahu voice his question: You told me to buy the field and call witnesses, yet the city is given to the Kasdim! Rashi supplies its force: why do I need a field? Metzudat David observes that the prophet himself had told Baruch the purchase was a sign; his question arises from his own heart, not from any further prophecy he had received.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
והעיר נתנה. ולמה לי שדה:
Yet the city is given Of what avail is the field to me?

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

וַֽיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Then the word of GOD came to Jeremiah:

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

הִנֵּה֙ אֲנִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה אֱלֹהֵ֖י כׇּל־בָּשָׂ֑ר הֲֽמִמֶּ֔נִּי יִפָּלֵ֖א כׇּל־דָּבָֽר׃

English:

Behold I am GOD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too wondrous for Me?

God answers by echoing the prophet's own words: I am the God of all flesh -- is anything too wondrous for Me? Rashi reads it as: are future events hidden from Me? Radak spells out the reply: the city will fall because My anger has not turned, but I commanded the purchase as a consolation. Metzudat David stresses God's power to restore the land to Israel.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
הממני יפלא. וכי העתידות עלומות ממני:
Is...concealed from Me? Are future events concealed from Me?

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

לָכֵ֕ן כֹּ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה הִנְנִ֣י נֹתֵן֩ אֶת־הָעִ֨יר הַזֹּ֜את בְּיַ֣ד הַכַּשְׂדִּ֗ים וּבְיַ֛ד נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֥ר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֖ל וּלְכָדָֽהּ׃

English:

Assuredly, thus said GOD: I am delivering this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall capture it.

The answer begins by confirming the doom: God is giving this city into the hand of the Kasdim and Nevuchadnetzar, and he will capture it. Metzudat David draws out the theological point: since everything belongs to God, He Himself is the one handing the city over, and the Kasdim will not take it by the strength of their own arm. Defeat too is part of divine providence.

פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29

Hebrew:

וּבָ֣אוּ הַכַּשְׂדִּ֗ים הַנִּלְחָמִים֙ עַל־הָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את וְהִצִּ֜יתוּ אֶת־הָעִ֥יר הַזֹּ֛את בָּאֵ֖שׁ וּשְׂרָפ֑וּהָ וְאֵ֣ת הַבָּתִּ֡ים אֲשֶׁר֩ קִטְּר֨וּ עַל־גַּגּוֹתֵיהֶ֜ם לַבַּ֗עַל וְהִסִּ֤כוּ נְסָכִים֙ לֵאלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים לְמַ֖עַן הַכְעִסֵֽנִי׃

English:

And the Chaldeans who have been attacking this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it down—with the houses on whose roofs they made offerings to Baal and poured out libations to other gods, so as to vex Me.

The Kasdim will enter the city and burn it, along with the houses on whose roofs incense was offered to the Baal and libations poured to other gods. Radak connects this to the later report that every great house was burned, since idolatrous offerings were made on the roofs of large, high buildings. Metzudat David says they knew the idols were empty but worshipped them to provoke God.

פסוק ל׳ · Verse 30

Hebrew:

כִּי־הָי֨וּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל וּבְנֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֗ה אַ֣ךְ עֹשִׂ֥ים הָרַ֛ע בְּעֵינַ֖י מִנְּעֻרֹֽתֵיהֶ֑ם כִּ֣י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אַ֣ךְ מַכְעִסִ֥ים אֹתִ֛י בְּמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יְדֵיהֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

For the people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight since their youth; the people of Israel have done nothing but vex Me by their conduct—declares GOD.

Israel and Yehudah have done only evil from their youth. Radak identifies their youth with the wilderness years and notes that the northern kingdom began provoking God first, Yehudah following after. Metzudat David explains the word only (אך) as total: since God took them as His people they did not do good in His sight. The indictment reaches back to the nation's very beginnings.

פסוק ל״א · Verse 31

Hebrew:

כִּ֧י עַל־אַפִּ֣י וְעַל־חֲמָתִ֗י הָ֤יְתָה לִּי֙ הָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את לְמִן־הַיּוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּנ֣וּ אוֹתָ֔הּ וְעַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה לַהֲסִירָ֖הּ מֵעַ֥ל פָּנָֽי׃

English:

This city has aroused My anger and My wrath from the day it was built until this day; so that it must be removed from My sight

This city has provoked God's anger from the day it was built. Rashi and Radak cite the midrash that on the day the Temple's foundation was laid, Shlomo married the daughter of Pharaoh; Radak adds that the high places and the idolatry of Shlomo's wives date from that period. Metzudat David explains that God long deferred His anger, but it can be deferred no longer.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
למן היום אשר בנו אותה. ביום שהוסד הבית נשא שלמה את בת פרעה:
since the day they built it On the day that the Temple was founded, Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter.

פסוק ל״ב · Verse 32

Hebrew:

עַל֩ כׇּל־רָעַ֨ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל וּבְנֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשׂוּ֙ לְהַכְעִסֵ֔נִי הֵ֤מָּה מַלְכֵיהֶם֙ שָׂרֵיהֶ֔ם כֹּהֲנֵיהֶ֖ם וּנְבִיאֵיהֶ֑ם וְאִ֣ישׁ יְהוּדָ֔ה וְיֹשְׁבֵ֖י יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

English:

because of all the wickedness of the people of Israel and Judah who have so acted as to vex Me—they, their kings, their officials, their priests and prophets, and the citizenry of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

The guilt is universal: the people of Israel and Yehudah, their kings, officials, priests, prophets, and every person in Yehudah and Jerusalem. Metzudat David and Radak both identify the prophets here as false prophets, and Metzudat David reads this verse as completing the previous one: the city deserved removal long ago for all this evil, and only God's patience delayed it.

פסוק ל״ג · Verse 33

Hebrew:

וַיִּפְנ֥וּ אֵלַ֛י עֹ֖רֶף וְלֹ֣א פָנִ֑ים וְלַמֵּ֤ד אֹתָם֙ הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם וְלַמֵּ֔ד וְאֵינָ֥ם שֹׁמְעִ֖ים לָקַ֥חַת מוּסָֽר׃

English:

They turned their backs to Me, not their faces; though I have taught them persistently, they do not give heed or accept rebuke.

They turned their backs to God and not their faces, though He taught them diligently. Metzudat David explains the image of turning the nape of the neck as someone who refuses to listen to a friend, and notes that God taught them through the prophets, rising early to do so. Radak specifies the true prophets, in contrast to the false ones of the previous verse.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ולמד אותם. לשון פעול אפרננ"ט בלעז:
I taught them lit., and teaching them. This is a participle, (apprenant in French).

פסוק ל״ד · Verse 34

Hebrew:

וַיָּשִׂ֣ימוּ שִׁקּוּצֵיהֶ֗ם בַּבַּ֛יִת אֲשֶׁר־נִקְרָֽא־שְׁמִ֥י עָלָ֖יו לְטַמְּאֽוֹ׃

English:

They placed their abominations in the House that bears My name and defiled it;

They set their abominations in the very house called by God's name, defiling it. Radak identifies those responsible as Achaz and Menashe, the two kings most associated with installing idols in the Temple. Metzudat David explains that placing idols in the house called the house of the LORD was done precisely in order to defile it. The sanctuary itself became the scene of betrayal.

פסוק ל״ה · Verse 35

Hebrew:

וַיִּבְנוּ֩ אֶת־בָּמ֨וֹת הַבַּ֜עַל אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ בְּגֵ֣יא בֶן־הִנֹּ֗ם לְ֠הַעֲבִ֠יר אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶ֣ם וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֵיהֶם֮ לַמֹּ֒לֶךְ֒ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־צִוִּיתִ֗ים וְלֹ֤א עָֽלְתָה֙ עַל־לִבִּ֔י לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת הַתּוֹעֵבָ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את לְמַ֖עַן הַחֲטִ֥י אֶת־יְהוּדָֽה׃ {ס}         

English:

and they built the shrines of Baal that are in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, where they offered up their sons and daughters to Molech—when I had never commanded, or even thought [of commanding], that they should do such an abominable thing, and so bring guilt on Judah.

The charge reaches its depth: high places of the Baal in the valley of Ben Hinnom, where children were passed through fire to Molech. God disowns it: I did not command it, nor did it enter My mind. Radak notes the formula appears three times in the book, here and in chapters 7 and 19. Metzudat David adds that they did this to provoke God, not believing it brought any benefit.

פסוק ל״ו · Verse 36

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּ֕ה לָכֵ֛ן כֹּה־אָמַ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אֶל־הָעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֔את אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אַתֶּ֣ם אֹמְרִ֗ים נִתְּנָה֙ בְּיַ֣ד מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֔ל בַּחֶ֖רֶב וּבָרָעָ֥ב וּבַדָּֽבֶר׃

English:

But now, assuredly, thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, “It is being delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon through the sword, through famine, and through pestilence”:

With ועתה לכן -- and now, therefore -- the prophecy pivots from doom to restoration, concerning the very city the people say is given over to Bavel by sword, famine and pestilence. Radak states that this passage refers to the return after the seventy years. Metzudat David explains that though they are exiled for their sins, the city belongs to God forever and will not remain Babylonian.

פסוק ל״ז · Verse 37

Hebrew:

הִנְנִ֤י מְקַבְּצָם֙ מִכׇּל־הָ֣אֲרָצ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִדַּחְתִּ֥ים שָׁ֛ם בְּאַפִּ֥י וּבַחֲמָתִ֖י וּבְקֶ֣צֶף גָּד֑וֹל וַהֲשִֽׁבֹתִים֙ אֶל־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה וְהֹשַׁבְתִּ֖ים לָבֶֽטַח׃

English:

See, I will gather them from all the lands to which I have banished them in My anger and wrath, and in great rage; and I will bring them back to this place and let them dwell secure.

God will gather them from every land to which He drove them in anger and wrath, bring them back to this place and let them dwell securely. Rashi adds that the gathering will be in mercy, from the places where they were banished in anger. Metzudat David contrasts this with the people's despair: it will not be as you think, for they will dwell in safety as before.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
הנני מקבצם. ברחמים מכל אשר הדחתים שם באפי:
Behold I will gather them with mercy from wherever I have driven them with My anger.

פסוק ל״ח · Verse 38

Hebrew:

וְהָ֥יוּ לִ֖י לְעָ֑ם וַאֲנִ֕י אֶהְיֶ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם לֵאלֹהִֽים׃

English:

They shall be My people, and I will be their God.

The covenant formula: they will be My people, and I will be their God. Metzudat David fills in both sides of the relationship -- they will believe in God and keep His commandments, and He will watch over them and over this city as in former times. The words echo the new covenant of chapter 31 and frame the restoration as a renewal of the bond itself, not merely a return to territory.

פסוק ל״ט · Verse 39

Hebrew:

וְנָתַתִּ֨י לָהֶ֜ם לֵ֤ב אֶחָד֙ וְדֶ֣רֶךְ אֶחָ֔ד לְיִרְאָ֥ה אוֹתִ֖י כׇּל־הַיָּמִ֑ים לְט֣וֹב לָהֶ֔ם וְלִבְנֵיהֶ֖ם אַחֲרֵיהֶֽם׃

English:

I will give them a single heart and a single nature to revere Me for all time, and it shall be well with them and their children after them.

God will give them one heart and one way (לב אחד ודרך אחד), to fear Him all their days. Metzudat David explains the one heart as an end to wavering between two opinions and turning from the single path. He adds that the purpose is not for God's benefit but for their own good and the good of their children after them.

פסוק מ׳ · Verse 40

Hebrew:

וְכָרַתִּ֤י לָהֶם֙ בְּרִ֣ית עוֹלָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־אָשׁוּב֙ מֵאַ֣חֲרֵיהֶ֔ם לְהֵיטִיבִ֖י אוֹתָ֑ם וְאֶת־יִרְאָתִי֙ אֶתֵּ֣ן בִּלְבָבָ֔ם לְבִלְתִּ֖י ס֥וּר מֵעָלָֽי׃

English:

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them and that I will treat them graciously; and I will put into their hearts reverence for Me, so that they do not turn away from Me.

God will make an everlasting covenant (ברית עולם) not to turn away from doing them good, and will place His fear in their hearts so that they do not turn away from Him. Metzudat David glosses each phrase: a covenant that endures forever, a promise not to cease benefiting them, and a reverence that keeps them from departing. Both partners' faithfulness is now secured by God Himself.

פסוק מ״א · Verse 41

Hebrew:

וְשַׂשְׂתִּ֥י עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם לְהֵטִ֣יב אוֹתָ֑ם וּנְטַעְתִּ֞ים בָּאָ֤רֶץ הַזֹּאת֙ בֶּאֱמֶ֔ת בְּכׇל־לִבִּ֖י וּבְכׇל־נַפְשִֽׁי׃ {ס}         

English:

I will delight in treating them graciously, and I will plant them in this land faithfully, with all My heart and soul.

God will rejoice over them to do them good and plant them in this land in truth, with all His heart and all His soul. Metzudat David explains in truth as a planting that endures, and with all My heart as with great love. The language of Devarim, in which Israel loves God with all its heart and soul, is here turned around and spoken by God about His people.

פסוק מ״ב · Verse 42

Hebrew:

כִּי־כֹה֙ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר הֵבֵ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה אֵ֛ת כׇּל־הָרָעָ֥ה הַגְּדוֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את כֵּ֣ן אָנֹכִ֞י מֵבִ֤יא עֲלֵיהֶם֙ אֶת־כׇּל־הַטּוֹבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י דֹּבֵ֥ר עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃

English:

For thus said GOD: As I have brought this terrible disaster upon this people, so I am going to bring upon them the vast good fortune that I have promised for them.

As God brought all this great evil upon the people, so He will bring all the good He promised. Metzudat David notes that the evil is the one they are in now, the siege. The parallel structure makes the fulfillment of the doom into a guarantee: the same word that proved true in disaster will prove true in restoration.

פסוק מ״ג · Verse 43

Hebrew:

וְנִקְנָ֥ה הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה בָּאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אַתֶּ֣ם אֹמְרִ֗ים שְׁמָמָ֥ה הִיא֙ מֵאֵ֤ין אָדָם֙ וּבְהֵמָ֔ה נִתְּנָ֖ה בְּיַ֥ד הַכַּשְׂדִּֽים׃

English:

And fields shall again be purchased in this land of which you say, “It is a desolation, without humans or animals; it is delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans.”

Fields will be bought in this land of which the people say it is a desolation without man or beast, given into the hand of the Kasdim. Metzudat David explains the people's assumption that the land would be desolate forever, surrendered to the Kasdim permanently. God answers that despair with the precise act Yirmiyahu has just performed: fields will again be bought.

פסוק מ״ד · Verse 44

Hebrew:

שָׂד֞וֹת בַּכֶּ֣סֶף יִקְנ֗וּ וְכָת֨וֹב בַּסֵּ֥פֶר ׀ וְחָתוֹם֮ וְהָעֵ֣ד עֵדִים֒ בְּאֶ֨רֶץ בִּנְיָמִ֜ן וּבִסְבִיבֵ֣י יְרוּשָׁלַ֗͏ִם וּבְעָרֵ֤י יְהוּדָה֙ וּבְעָרֵ֣י הָהָ֔ר וּבְעָרֵ֥י הַשְּׁפֵלָ֖ה וּבְעָרֵ֣י הַנֶּ֑גֶב כִּֽי־אָשִׁ֥יב אֶת־שְׁבוּתָ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃ {פ}

English:

Fields shall be purchased, and deeds written and sealed, and witnesses called in the land of Benjamin and in the environs of Jerusalem, and in the towns of Judah; the towns of the hill country, the towns of the Shephelah, and the towns of the Negeb. For I will restore their fortunes—declares GOD.

Fields will be bought with silver, deeds written and sealed and witnesses called, in Binyamin, around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Yehudah, the hills, the lowland and the Negev. Metzudat David closes the circle: this is why God commanded the purchase from Chanamel, as a sign that fields would again be bought when the exiles returned from Bavel. The prophet's deed becomes the nation's.

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