Jeremias (Jeremiah) 29
29
1Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremias the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the ancients that were carried into captivity and to the priests and to the prophets and to all the people whom Nabuchodonosor had carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
2After that Jechonias the king and the queen and the eunuchs and the princes of Juda and of Jerusalem and the craftsman and the engravers were departed out of Jerusalem:
3By the hand of Elasa the son of Saphan and Gamarias the son of Helcias, whom Sedecias king of Juda sent to Babylon to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, saying:
4Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5Build ye houses and dwell in them: and plant orchards and eat the fruit of them.
6Take ye wives and beget sons and daughters: and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, and let them bear sons and daughters: and be ye multiplied there, and be not few in number.
7And seek the peace of the city to which I have caused you to be carried away captives and pray to the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall be your peace.
8For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in the midst of you and your diviners deceive you, and give no heed to your dreams which you dream:
9For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: and I have not sent them, saith the Lord.
10For thus saith the Lord: When the seventy years shall begin to be accomplished in Babylon, I will visit you: and I will perform my good word in your favour, to bring you again to this place.
11For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of affliction, to give you an end and patience.
12And you shall call upon me, and you shall go: and you shall pray to me, and I will hear you.
13You shall seek me: and shall find me, when you shall seek me with all your heart.
14And I will be found by you, saith the Lord: and I will bring back your captivity, and I will gather you out of all nations and from all the places to which I have driven you out, saith the Lord: and I will bring you back from the place to which I caused you to be carried away captive:
15Because you have said: The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon.
16For thus saith the Lord to the king that sitteth upon the throne of David and to all the people that dwell in this city, to your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity.
17Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence: and I will make them like bad figs that cannot be eaten, because they are very bad.
18And I will persecute them with the sword and with famine and with the pestilence: and I will give them up unto affliction to all the kingdoms of the earth: to be a curse and an astonishment and a hissing and a reproach to all the nations to which I have driven them out:
19Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent to them by my servants the prophets, rising by night and sending: and you have not heard, saith the Lord.
20Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent out from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to Achab the son of Colias and to Sedecias the son of Maasias, who prophesy unto you in my name falsely: Behold, I will deliver them up into the hands of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon. And he shall kill them before your eyes.
22And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Juda that are in Babylon, saying: The Lord make thee like Sedecias and like Achab whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire:
23Because they have acted folly in Israel and have committed adultery with the wives of their friends and have spoken lying words in my name, which I commanded them not. I am the judge and the witness, saith the Lord.
24And to Semeias the Nehelamite thou shalt say:
25Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because thou hast sent letters in thy name to all the people that are in Jerusalem and to Sophonias the son of Maasias the priest and to all the priests, saying:
26The Lord hath made thee priest instead of Joiada the priest, that thou shouldst be ruler in the house of the Lord over every man that raveth and prophesieth, to put him in the stocks and into prison.
27And now why hast thou not rebuked Jeremias the Anathothite who prophesieth to you?
28For he hath also sent to us in Babylon, saying: It is a long time: build ye houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat the fruits of them.
29So Sophonias the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremias the prophet.
30And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying:
31Send to all them of the captivity, saying: Thus saith the Lord to Semeias the Nehelamite: Behold, Semeias hath prophesied to you and I sent him not, and hath caused you to trust in a lie:
32Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold I will visit upon Semeias the Nehelamite and upon his seed. He shall not have a man to sit in the midst of this people and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, saith the Lord: because he hath spoken treason against the Lord.
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Jeremias (Jeremiah) 29: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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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