¹² and I gave this deed to Baruch^(A) son of Neriah,^(B) the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

¹³ “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: ¹⁴ ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed^(C) and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. ¹⁵ For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’^(D)

¹⁶ “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch^(E) son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord:

³ But Baruch^(A) son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians,^[a] so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon.”^(B)

⁶ They also led away all those whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had left with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan—the men, the women,^(A) the children and the king’s daughters. And they took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch^(B) son of Neriah along with them.

A Message to Baruch

45 When Baruch^(A) son of Neriah^(B) wrote on a scroll^(C) the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(D) son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: