Jeremiah 29
New International Version
A Letter to the Exiles
29Â This is the text of the letter(A) that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.(B) 2Â (This was after King Jehoiachin[a](C) and the queen mother,(D) the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) 3Â He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:
4Â This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried(E) into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5Â âBuild(F) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6Â 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.(G) 7Â Also, seek(H) the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray(I) to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.â 8Â Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: âDo not let the prophets(J) and diviners among you deceive(K) you. Do not listen to the dreams(L) you encourage them to have.(M) 9Â They are prophesying lies(N) to you in my name. I have not sent(O) them,â declares the Lord.
10Â This is what the Lord says: âWhen seventy years(P) are completed for Babylon, I will come to you(Q) and fulfill my good promise(R) to bring you back(S) to this place. 11Â For I know the plans(T) I have for you,â declares the Lord, âplans to prosper(U) you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.(V) 12Â Then you will call(W) on me and come and pray(X) to me, and I will listen(Y) to you. 13Â You will seek(Z) me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.(AA) 14Â I will be found by you,â declares the Lord, âand will bring you back(AB) from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,â declares the Lord, âand will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.â(AC)
15Â You may say, âThe Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,â 16Â but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on Davidâs throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exileâ 17Â yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: âI will send the sword, famine and plague(AD) against them and I will make them like figs(AE) that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18Â I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent(AF) to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse[c](AG) and an object of horror,(AH) of scorn(AI) and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19Â For they have not listened to my words,â(AJ) declares the Lord, âwords that I sent to them again and again(AK) by my servants the prophets.(AL) And you exiles have not listened either,â declares the Lord.
20Â Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent(AM) away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21Â This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies(AN) to you in my name: âI will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22Â Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: âMay the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned(AO) in the fire.â 23Â For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery(AP) with their neighborsâ wives, and in my name they have uttered liesâwhich I did not authorize. I know(AQ) it and am a witness(AR) to it,â declares the Lord.
Message to Shemaiah
24Â Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 25Â âThis is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah(AS) son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, 26Â âThe Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac(AT) who acts like a prophet into the stocks(AU) and neck-irons. 27Â So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? 28Â He has sent this message(AV) to us in Babylon: It will be a long time.(AW) Therefore build(AX) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.ââ
29Â Zephaniah(AY) the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 30Â Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31Â âSend this message to all the exiles: âThis is what the Lord says about Shemaiah(AZ) the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send(BA) him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, 32Â this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants.(BB) He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good(BC) things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion(BD) against me.ââ
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 29:14 Or will restore your fortunes
- Jeremiah 29:18 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see verse 22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
Jeremiah 29
Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiahâs Letter to the Exiles
29Â This is the text of the letter(A) that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining exiled elders, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar(B) had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2Â This was after King Jeconiah,[a](C) the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem. 3Â He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah,(D) whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The letter stated:
4Â This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5Â âBuild houses and live in them.(E) Plant gardens and eat their produce. 6Â Find 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.(F) 7Â Pursue the well-being[b] of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf,(G) for when it thrives, you will thrive.â
8Â For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: âDonât let your prophets who are among you(H) and your diviners deceive you,(I) and donât listen to the dreams you elicit from them, 9Â for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.â(J) This is the Lordâs declaration.
10Â For this is what the Lord says: âWhen seventy years for Babylon are complete,(K) I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. 11Â For I know the plans I have for youâ(L)âthis is the Lordâs declarationââplans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12Â You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.(M) 13Â You will seek me(N) and find me when you search for me with all your heart. 14Â I will be found by youââthis is the Lordâs declarationââand I will restore your fortunes[c](O) and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished youââthis is the Lordâs declaration. âI will restore you to the place from which I deported you.â(P)
15Â You have said, âThe Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon!â 16Â But this is what the Lord says concerning the king sitting on Davidâs throne(Q) and concerning all the people living in this cityâthat is, concerning your brothers who did not go with you into exile. 17Â This is what the Lord of Armies says: âI am about to send sword, famine, and plague against them,(R) and I will make them like rotten figs that are inedible because they are so bad. 18Â I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earthâa curse and a desolation, an object of scorn and a disgrace among all the nations(S) where I have banished them.(T) 19Â I will do this because they have not listened to my wordsââthis is the Lordâs declarationââthe words that I sent to them with my servants the prophets time and time again.[d](U) And you too have not listened.â This is the Lordâs declaration.
20Â Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.(V) 21Â This 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:(W) âI am about to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes. 22Â Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse(X) that says, âMay the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!â (Y) 23Â because they have committed an outrage(Z) in Israel by committing adultery with their neighborsâ 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.â This is the Lordâs declaration.
24Â To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you are to say, 25Â âThis is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You[e] in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah(AA) son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, 26Â âThe Lord has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer(AB) in the temple of the Lord, responsible for every madman(AC) who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks(AD) and an iron collar. 27Â So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who has been acting like a prophet among you?(AE) 28Â For he has sent word to us in Babylon, claiming, âThe exile will be long. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.âââ (AF)
29Â The priest Zephaniah read this letter in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah.
A Message about Shemaiah
30Â Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31Â âSend a message to all the exiles, saying, âThis 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,(AG) 32Â this 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,(AH) nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to my peopleâthis is the Lordâs declarationâfor he has preached rebellion against the Lord.ââ(AI)
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