Jeremiah 29
Message to the Exiles
1 Now these are the words of the aletter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2(This was after King bJeconiah and the cqueen mother, the high officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers had departed from Jerusalem.) 3The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of dHilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, 4“This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles whom I have esent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5‘ fBuild houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ▼▼Lit fruit
produce. 6Take hwives and father sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may give birth to sons and daughters; and grow in numbers there and do not decrease. 7 iSeek the ▼▼Or peace
prosperity of the city where I have sent you into exile, and kpray to the Lord in its behalf; for ▼▼Or your prosperity will depend on its
in its ▼▼Or peace
prosperity will be your ▼▼Or peace
prosperity.’ 8For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your oprophets who are in your midst or your diviners pdeceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of qyour dreams which you dream. 9For they rprophesy falsely to you in My name; sI have not sent them,’ declares the Lord. 10 “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When tseventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ugood word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11For I know the vplans that I ▼▼Lit am planning
have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ▼▼Or salvation
yprosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a zhope. 12Then you will aacall upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ablisten to you. 13And you will acseek Me and find Me when you adsearch for Me with all your heart. 14I will let Myself be aefound by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will afrestore your fortunes and aggather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ahbring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’ 15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up aiprophets for us in Babylon’-- 16for this is what the Lord says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who live in this city, your brothers who did ajnot go with you into exile-- 17this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the aksword, famine, and plague; and I will make them like alrotten figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. 18I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with plague; and I will ammake them an object of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ancurse and an object of horror and ▼▼Or whistling
aphissing, and a disgrace among all the nations where I have driven them, 19because they have aqnot listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by arMy servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. 20‘You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have assent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are atprophesying to you falsely in My name: “Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes. 22Because of them a aucurse will be ▼▼Lit taken
used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon awroasted in the fire,’ 23because they axacted ▼▼Or sacrilegiously
foolishly in Israel, and azcommitted adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and falsely baspoke words in My name which I did not command them. I am He who bbknows, and a witness,” declares the Lord.’” 24 Now you shall speak to bcShemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25“This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have sent bdletters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to bethe priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, 26“The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the ▼▼Lit overseers
bgoverseer of the house of the Lord for every bhinsane person who biprophesies, to bjput him in the stocks and in the iron collar. 27So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of bkAnathoth who prophesies to you, 28seeing that he has blsent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘ ▼▼Lit It
The exile will be bnlong; bobuild houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their ▼▼Lit fruit
produce’?”’” 29 Now bqZephaniah the priest read this letter ▼▼Lit in the ears of
to Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 31“Send word to bsall the exiles, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning btShemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has buprophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has bvmade you trust in a lie,” 32therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to bwpunish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ▼▼Lit seed
descendants; he will bynot have anyone living among this people, bzand he will not see the good that I am going to do for My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has caspoken falsely against the Lord.”’”
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