Jeremiah 29
29
Disturbing hope: Settle down in Babylon
1The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the few surviving elders among the exiles, to the priests and the prophets, and to all the people Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon from Jerusalem. 2The letter was sent after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the government leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and smiths had left Jerusalem. 3It was delivered to Babylon by Elasah, Shaphan’s son, and Gemariah, Hilkiah’s son—two men dispatched to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar by King Zedekiah.
4The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims to all the exiles I have carried off from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5Build houses and settle down; cultivate gardens and eat what they produce. 6Get married and have children; then help your sons find wives and your daughters find husbands in order that they too may have children. Increase in number there so that you don’t dwindle away. 7Promote the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because your future depends on its welfare.
8The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Don’t let the prophets and diviners in your midst mislead you. Don’t pay attention to your dreams. 9They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I didn’t send them, declares the LORD.
10The LORD proclaims: When Babylon’s seventy years are up, I will come and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. 12When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. 13When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. 14I will be present for you, declares the LORD, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile,#29.14 Or I will restore you to the place from which I exiled you. declares the LORD.
15Yet you say, The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon:
16This is what the LORD proclaims concerning the king sitting on David’s throne and all the people who live in this city, that is, those among you who didn’t go into exile: 17The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: I’m going to send the sword, famine, and disease against them. I will make them like rotten figs that are too spoiled to eat. 18I will pursue them with the sword, famine, and disease; and I will make them an object of horror to all nations on earth and an object of cursing, scorn, shock, and disgrace among all the countries where I have scattered them, 19because they wouldn’t listen to my words, declares the LORD, which I sent them time and again through my servants the prophets. They#29.19 Syr; MT you wouldn’t listen, declares the LORD.
20But now, all you exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon, listen to the LORD’s word. 21This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims concerning Ahab, Kolaiah’s son, and Zedekiah, Maaseiah’s son, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: I will hand them over to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar, and he will slay them before your very eyes. 22Because of them, all the Judean exiles in Babylon will use this curse: “The LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, who were burned alive by the king of Babylon.” 23They committed a horrible scandal in Israel—adultery with their neighbors’ wives and deceit spoken in my name, with which I had nothing to do. Yet I’m still aware of it and am witness to it, declares the LORD.
24Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 25This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims:#29.25 Or because you sentYou sent letters on your own accord to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, Maaseiah’s son, and to the rest of the priests. 26You said to Zephaniah:#29.26 Heb lacks You said to Zephaniah. The LORD has appointed you priest in charge of the LORD’s temple instead of Jehoiada. You are responsible for putting every madman who prophesies into stocks and neck irons. 27So why haven’t you threatened Jeremiah of Anathoth, who pretends to be a prophet among you? 28He has sent a letter telling those of us in Babylon: “You are going to be there a long time, so build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce.”
29The priest Zephaniah read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah. 30Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah: 31Send word to all the exiles: The LORD proclaims concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesied to you when I didn’t send him, and because he convinced you to believe a lie, 32I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants, declares the LORD. Not one member of this people will be around to see the good that I have in store for my people, declares the LORD, for he incited rebellion against me.
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Jeremiah 29: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 29
29
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
1This is the text of the letter#2Sm 11:14–15; 1Kg 21:8–11 that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining exiled elders, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar#2Kg 24:11; 25:22; 2Ch 36:6–13 had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2This was after King Jeconiah,#29:2 = Jehoiachin#Jr 24:1; 27:20; 28:4 the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem. 3He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah,#1Ch 6:13 whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The letter stated:
4This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5“Build houses and live in them.#Jr 29:28 Plant gardens and eat their produce. 6Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.#Gn 17:5–6; 35:10–11 7Pursue the well-being#29:7 Or peace of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf,#Ezr 6:10; 1Tm 2:1–2 for when it thrives, you will thrive.”
8For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you#Jr 27:9 and your diviners deceive you,#Jr 27:15 and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them, 9for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.”#Jr 5:31; 14:14; 20:6; 23:25–26,32; 27:10,14–16; 29:21,31 This is the Lord’s declaration.
10For this is what the Lord says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete,#Jr 25:12; Dn 9:2 I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. 11For I know the plans I have for you”#Ps 33:10; Jr 26:3; 36:3 — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.#Dt 30:1–10; Jr 3:12 13You will seek me#Dt 4:29; 1Ch 28:9; 2Ch 15:2 and find me when you search for me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “and I will restore your fortunes#29:14 Or will end your captivity#Jb 42:10; Jr 32:44; 49:39; Ezk 16:53; 39:25; Hs 6:11; Zph 2:7 and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”#Dt 30:3; Jr 30:3
15You have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon!” 16But this is what the Lord says concerning the king sitting on David’s throne#Jr 17:25; 22:2,30; 36:30 and concerning all the people living in this city — that is, concerning your brothers who did not go with you into exile. 17This is what the Lord of Armies says: “I am about to send sword, famine, and plague against them,#Jr 14:12; 21:9; 24:10 and I will make them like rotten figs that are inedible because they are so bad. 18I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth — a curse and a desolation, an object of scorn and a disgrace among all the nations#Dt 28:37; 2Ch 29:8; 30:7; Jr 5:30; 19:8; 25:9,18; 29:18; 42:18; 44:12,22; 49:17; 50:13; Mc 6:16; Zph 2:15 where I have banished them.#Dt 30:1; Jr 8:3; 16:15 19I will do this because they have not listened to my words” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “the words that I sent to them with my servants the prophets time and time again.#29:19 Lit prophets, rising up early and sending#Jr 7:13,25; 11:7; 25:3; 26:5; 32:33; 35:14–15; 44:4 And you too have not listened.” This is the Lord’s declaration.
20Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.#Jr 24:5 21This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, the ones prophesying a lie to you in my name:#Jr 14:14; 29:9 “I am about to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes. 22Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse#Is 65:15 that says, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire! ’ #Dn 3:6 23because they have committed an outrage#Gn 34:7; Dt 22:21; Jos 7:15 in Israel by committing adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken in my name a lie, which I did not command them. I am he who knows, and I am a witness.” This is the Lord’s declaration.
24To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you are to say, 25“This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You#29:25 Lit Because you in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah#Jr 21:1; 37:3; 52:24–27 son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, 26‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer#2Ch 31:13; Jr 20:1 in the temple of the Lord, responsible for every madman#2Kg 9:11; Hs 9:7 who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks#2Ch 16:10; Jr 20:2 and an iron collar. 27So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who has been acting like a prophet among you?#Jr 1:1 28For he has sent word to us in Babylon, claiming, “The exile will be long. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.”’” #Jr 29:5
29The priest Zephaniah read this letter in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah.
A Message about Shemaiah
30Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31“Send a message to all the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you trust a lie,#Jr 27:10,14–16; 28:15; 29:9,21,23 32this is what the Lord says: I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be even one of his descendants living among these people,#Jr 17:6 nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to my people — this is the Lord’s declaration — for he has preached rebellion against the Lord.’”#Jr 28:16
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