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and I gave the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses who signed the purchase deed, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison.
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"Then I charged Baruch before them, saying,
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'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Take these deeds, both this purchase deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may last many days."
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For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land." '
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"Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying:
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'Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
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You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them--the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
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You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.
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You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day.
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You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
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You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them--"a land flowing with milk and honey."
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And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.
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Look, the siege mounds! They have come to the city to take it; and the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword and famine and pestilence. What You have spoken has happened; there You see it!
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And You have said to me, O Lord God, "Buy the field for money, and take witnesses"!--yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.' "
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Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
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"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?
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Therefore thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
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And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger;
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because the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only evil before Me from their youth. For the children of Israel have provoked Me only to anger with the work of their hands,' says the Lord.
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'For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My fury from the day that they built it, even to this day; so I will remove it from before My face
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because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me to anger--they, their kings, their princes, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.