Jeremiah 29
29
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Captives
1Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were #Jer. 27:20carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2(This happened after #2 Kin. 24:12–16; 2 Chr. 36:9, 10; Jer. 22:24–28Jeconiah the king, the #2 Kin. 24:12, 15; Jer. 13:18queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) 3The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of #2 Chr. 34:8Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,
4Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. 7And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, #Ezra 6:10; Neh. 1:4–11; Dan. 9:16; 1 Tim. 2:2and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. 8For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst #Jer. 14:14; 23:21; 27:14, 15; Eph. 5:6deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. 9For they prophesy #Jer. 28:15; 37:19falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord.
10For thus says the Lord: After #2 Chr. 36:21–23; Ezra 1:1–4; Jer. 25:12; 27:22; Dan. 9:2; Zech. 7:5seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to #(Jer. 24:6, 7); Zeph. 2:7return to this place. 11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will #Ps. 50:15; Jer. 33:3; Dan. 9:3call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will #Ps. 145:19listen to you. 13And #Lev. 26:39–42; Deut. 30:1–3you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me #1 Chr. 22:19; 2 Chr. 22:9; Jer. 24:7with all your heart. 14#(Deut. 4:7); Ps. 32:6; 46:1; (Is. 55:6, 7); Jer. 24:7I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; #Is. 43:5, 6; Jer. 23:8; 32:37I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.
15Because you have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon”— 16#Jer. 38:2, 3, 17–23therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, concerning all the people who dwell in this city, and concerning your brethren who have not gone out with you into captivity— 17thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like #Jer. 24:3, 8–10rotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. 18And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I #Deut. 28:25; 2 Chr. 29:8; Jer. 15:4; 24:9; 34:17; Ezek. 12:15will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be #Jer. 26:6; 42:18a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19because they have not heeded My words, says the Lord, which #Jer. 25:4; 26:5; 35:15I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the Lord. 20Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a #Jer. 14:14, 15; Lam. 2:14; 2 Pet. 2:1lie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. 22#Gen. 48:20; Is. 65:15And because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, #Dan. 3:6, 21whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”; 23because #Jer. 23:14they have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I #(Prov. 5:21; Jer. 16:17); Mal. 3:5; (Heb. 4:13)know, and am a witness, says the Lord.
24You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, #2 Kin. 25:18; Jer. 21:1to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26“The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be #Jer. 20:1officers in the house of the Lord over every man who is #2 Kin. 9:11; Hos. 9:7; Mark 3:21; John 10:20; Acts 26:24; (2 Cor. 5:13)demented and considers himself a prophet, that you should #Jer. 20:1, 2; Acts 16:24put him in prison and in the stocks. 27Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you? 28For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ”
29Now Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 31Send to all those in captivity, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, #Jer. 28:15and I have not sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a #Ezek. 13:8–16, 22, 23lie— 32therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his family: he shall not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for My people, says the Lord, #Jer. 28:16because he has taught rebellion against the Lord.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 29
29
A letter to the exiles
1This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2(This was after King Jehoiachin#29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the craftsmen had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) 3He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:
4This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’ 8Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.
10This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.#29:14 Or will restore your fortunes I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’
15You may say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ 16but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile – 17yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse#29:18 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see verse 22); or, others will see that they are cursed. and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19For they have not listened to my words,’ declares the Lord, ‘words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,’ declares the Lord.
20Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: ‘I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.” 23For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies – which I did not authorise. I know it and am a witness to it,’ declares the Lord.
Message to Shemaiah
24Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 25‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: you sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, 26“The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. 27So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? 28He has sent this message to us in Babylon: it will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.” ’
29Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31‘Send this message to all the exiles: “This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, 32this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no-one left among this people, nor will he see the good things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion against me.” ’
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