⁴ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried^(A) into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ “Build^(B) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶ Marry 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.^{(C) 7} Also, seek^(D) the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray^(E) to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”