Yirmeyahu (Jer) 29
29
1Following is the text of the letter Yirmeyahu the prophet sent from Yerushalayim to the leaders remaining in exile, as well as to the cohanim, the prophets and all the people N’vukhadnetzar had carried off captive from Yerushalayim to Bavel. 2This was after Y’khanyah the king, the queen mother, the officers, the leaders of Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, and the artisans and skilled workers had left Yerushalayim. 3The letter was entrusted to El‘asah the son of Shafan and G’maryah the son of Hilkiyah; Tzidkiyah king of Y’hudah sent them to Bavel, to N’vukhadnetzar king of Bavel. The letter said:
4“Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says to all those in exile, whom I have caused to be carried off captive from Yerushalayim to Bavel: 5‘Build yourselves houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce. 6Choose women to marry, and have sons and daughters. Choose wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage to men, so that they can have sons and daughters — increase your numbers there, don’t decrease. 7Seek the welfare of the city to which I have caused you to go in exile, and pray to Adonai on its behalf; for your welfare is bound up in its welfare.’ 8For this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘Don’t let your prophets who are living among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t pay attention to the dreams you urge them to dream. 9For they are prophesying falsely in my name; I have not sent them,’ says Adonai.
10“For here is what Adonai says: ‘After Bavel’s seventy years are over, I will remember you and fulfill my good promise to you by bringing you back to this place. 11For I know what plans I have in mind for you,’ says Adonai,‘plans for well-being, not for bad things; so that you can have hope and a future. 12When you call to me and pray to me, I will listen to you. 13When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek for me wholeheartedly; 14and I will let you find me,’ says Adonai. ‘Then I will reverse your exile. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have driven you,’ says Adonai, ‘and bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’
15“You say that Adonai has raised up prophets for you in Bavel. 16But here is what Adonai says about the king occupying David’s throne and about all the people living in this city, your kinsmen who did not go into exile with you — 17thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: ‘I will attack them with sword, famine and plague; I will make them like bad figs, so bad they are inedible. 18I will pursue them with sword, famine and plague and make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth; and they will bring on themselves cursing, astonishment, ridicule and reproach among all the nations where I have driven them; 19because they have not paid attention to my words,’ says Adonai, ‘which I sent to them through my servants the prophets. I sent them frequently, but you refused to listen,’ says Adonai.
20“So pay attention now to the word of Adonai, all of you in exile, whom I sent away from Yerushalayim to Bavel. 21Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says about Ach’av the son of Kolayah and Tzidkiyahu the son of Ma‘aseiyah, who prophesy lies to you in my name: ‘I will hand them over to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel, and he will put them to death before your eyes. 22In fact, all those exiled from Y’hudah who are in Bavel will take up this formula for cursing: “May Adonai make you like Tzidkiyahu and Ach’av, whom the king of Bavel roasted in the fire!” 23because they have done vile things in Isra’el, committing adultery with their neighbors’ wives and speaking words in my name, falsely, which I did not order them to say. For I am he who knows; I am witness to this,’ says Adonai.
24“To Sh’ma‘yah the Nechelami you are to communicate this message: 25‘This is a word from Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, because of the letters you sent in your own name to all the people in Yerushalayim, including Tz’fanyah the son of Ma‘aseiyah the cohen and all the cohanim. 26Your letter said, “Adonai has made you cohen in place of Y’hoyada the cohen, in order to have officials in Adonai’s house who will arrest any crazy person who makes himself out to be a prophet, so that you can restrain him in stocks and collar. 27So why haven’t you rebuked Yirmeyahu of ‘Anatot, who makes himself out to be a prophet for you? 28He even sends word to us in Bavel saying that the exile will last a long time; so build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what they produce.” 29Tz’fanyah the cohen read this letter to Yirmeyahu the prophet, and afterwards 30the word of Adonai came to Yirmeyahu, 31instructing him to send to all those in exile this message: “Here is what Adonai says about Sh’ma‘yah the Nechelami: ‘This Sh’ma‘yah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has caused you to put your trust in a lie. 32Because of this,’ Adonai says, ‘I will punish Sh’ma‘yah the Nechelami and his offspring. He will not have a man to live among this people, and he will not see the good I am planning to do for my people,’ says Adonai, ‘because he has preached rebellion against Adonai.’”’”
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Yirmeyahu (Jer) 29: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleJeremiah 29
29
Jeremiah's letter to the people of Judah in Babylonia
1-2I had been left in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar#29.1,2 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. took many of the people of Jerusalem and Judah to Babylonia as prisoners, including King Jehoiachin,#29.1,2 Jehoiachin: Hebrew “Jeconiah” (see the note at 24.1). his mother, his officials, and the metal workers and others in Jerusalem who were skilled in making things. So I wrote a letter to the prophets, the priests, the leaders, and the rest of our people in Babylonia.#2 K 24.12-16; 2 Ch 36.10. 3I gave the letter to Elasah and Gemariah,#29.3 Elasah and Gemariah: Hebrew “Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah”. two men that King Zedekiah#29.3 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3. of Judah was sending to Babylon to talk with Nebuchadnezzar. In the letter, I wrote 4that the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said:
I had you taken from Jerusalem to Babylonia. Now I tell you 5to settle there and build houses. Plant gardens and eat what you grow in them. 6Get married and have children, then help your sons find wives and help your daughters find husbands, so they can have children as well. I want your numbers to grow, not to get smaller.
7Pray for peace in Babylonia and work hard to make it prosperous. The more successful that nation is, the better off you will be.
8-9Some of your people there in Babylonia are fortune-tellers, and you have asked them to tell you what will happen in the future. But they will only lead you astray. And don't let the prophets fool you, either. They speak in my name, but they are liars. I have not spoken to them.
10After Babylonia has been the strongest nation for seventy years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised.#2 Ch 36.21; Jr 25.11; Dn 9.2. 11I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you#Dt 4.29. 14and accept your worship. Then I will gather you from all the nations where I scattered you, and you will return to Jerusalem.
15You feel secure, because you think I have sent prophets to speak for me in Babylonia.
16-19But I have been sending prophets to the people of Judah for a long time, and the king from David's family and the people who are left in Jerusalem and Judah still don't obey me. So I, the LORD All-Powerful, will keep attacking them with war and hunger and disease, until they are as useless as rotten figs. I will force them to leave the land, and all nations will be disgusted and shocked at what happens to them. The nations will sneer and make fun of them and use the names “Judah” and “Jerusalem” as curse words.
And you have not obeyed me, even though 20I had you taken from Jerusalem to Babylonia. But you had better listen to me now. 21-23You think Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah are prophets because they claim to speak for me. But they are lying! I haven't told them anything. They are also committing other horrible sins in your community, such as sleeping with the wives of their friends. So I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar, who will put them to death while the rest of you watch. And in the future, when you want to put a curse on someone, you will say, “I pray that the LORD will kill you in the same way the king of Babylonia burnt Zedekiah and Ahab to death!”
A message for Shemaiah
24-25The LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me what would happen to Shemaiah,#29.24,25 Shemaiah: Hebrew “Shemaiah, who came from the town of Nehelam”. who was one of our people in Babylonia. After my letter reached Babylonia, Shemaiah wrote letters to the people of Jerusalem, including the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and the other priests. The letter to Zephaniah said:
26After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the LORD chose you to be the priest in charge of the temple security force. You know that anyone who acts mad and pretends to be a prophet should be arrested and put in chains#29.26 in chains: See the note at 20.2. and iron collars. 27Jeremiah from the town of Anathoth is pretending to be a prophet there in Jerusalem, so why haven't you punished him? 28He even wrote a letter to the people here in Babylonia, saying we would be here a long time. He told us to build homes and to plant gardens and grow our own food.
29When Zephaniah received Shemaiah's letter, he read it to me. 30Then the LORD told me what to write in a second letter 31to the people of Judah who had been taken to Babylonia. In this letter, I wrote that the LORD had said:
I, the LORD, have not chosen Shemaiah to be one of my prophets, and he has misled you by telling lies in my name. 32He has even talked you into disobeying me. So I will punish Shemaiah. He and his descendants won't live to see the good things I will do for my people. I, the LORD, have spoken.
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