Jeremiah's Letter to the People of Judah in Babylonia

29 ^1-2 (A) I had been left in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar^[a] took many of the people of Jerusalem and Judah to Babylonia as prisoners, including King Jehoiachin,^[b] his mother, his officials, and the metal workers and others in Jerusalem who were skilled in making things. So I wrote a letter to the priests, the prophets, the leaders, and the rest of our people in Babylonia.

⁴ that the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said:

I had you taken from Jerusalem to Babylonia. Now I tell you ⁵ to settle there and build houses. Plant gardens and eat what you grow in them. ⁶ Get married and have children, then help your sons find wives and help your daughters find husbands, so they can have children as well. I want your numbers to grow, not to get smaller.

⁷ Pray for peace in Babylonia and work hard to make it prosperous. The more successful that nation is, the better off you will be.