Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles

29 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ^(A)the surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^(B)the priests, ^(C)the prophets, and ^(D)all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² This was after ^(E)King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^(F)Shaphan and Gemariah the son of ^(G)Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: ⁴ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ^5 (H)Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶ Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. ⁷ But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(I)pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. ⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(J)Do not let your prophets and ^(K)your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,^{[a] 9} for ^(L)it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^(M)I did not send them, declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord: ^(N)When seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^(O)I will visit you, ^(P)and I will fulfill to you my promise ^(Q)and bring you back to this place. ^11 (R)For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare^[b] and not for evil, ^(S)to give you a future and a hope. ^12 (T)Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^(U)and I will hear you. ^13 (V)You will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^(W)with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^(X)and I will restore your fortunes and ^(Y)gather you from all the nations and all the places ^(Z)where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

¹⁵ “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ ¹⁶ thus says the Lord concerning ^(AA)the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: ¹⁷ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them ^(AB)sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ^(AC)vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with ^(AD)sword, famine, and pestilence, ^(AE)and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ^(AF)to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations ^(AG)where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, ^(AH)that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ ²⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ^(AI)whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: ²¹ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, ^(AJ)who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. ^22 (AK)Because of them ^(AL)this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^(AM)whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” ²³ because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ^(AN)they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and ^(AO)they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. ^(AP)I am the one who knows, ^(AQ)and I am witness, declares the Lord.’”

Shemaiah's False Prophecy

²⁴ To ^(AR)Shemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: ²⁵ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(AS)Zephaniah the son of ^(AT)Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^(AU)charge in the house of the Lord ^(AV)over every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^(AW)the stocks and neck irons. ²⁷ Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^(AX)of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸ For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^(AY)build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

^29 (AZ)Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ^30 (BA)Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^(BB)Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^(BC)Shemaiah had prophesied to you ^(BD)when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, ³² therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^(BE)Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^(BF)and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^(BG)for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”

Restoration for Israel and Judah

30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(BH)Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. ^3 (BI)For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, ^(BJ)when I will restore ^(BK)the fortunes of my people, ^(BL)Israel and Judah, says the Lord, ^(BM)and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

⁴ These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning ^(BN)Israel and Judah:

⁸ “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will ^(BT)break his ^(BU)yoke from off your neck, and I will ^(BV)burst your bonds, ^(BW)and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.^{[c] 9} But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^(BX)David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants^[a] of Christ Jesus,

To all the ^(A)saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ^(B)overseers^[b] and ^(C)deacons:^[c]

^2 (D)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

^3 (E)I thank my God ^(F)in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ^5 (G)because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began ^(H)a good work in you ^(I)will bring it to completion at ^(J)the day of Jesus Christ. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ^(K)in my heart, for you are all ^(L)partakers with me of grace,^[d] both ^(M)in my imprisonment and in ^(N)the defense and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸ For ^(O)God is my witness, ^(P)how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹ And it is my prayer that ^(Q)your love may abound more and more, ^(R)with knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰ so that you may approve what is excellent, ^(S)and so be pure and blameless ^(T)for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled ^(U)with the fruit of righteousness that comes ^(V)through Jesus Christ, ^(W)to the glory and praise of God.

The Advance of the Gospel

¹² I want you to know, brothers,^[e] that what has happened to me has really ^(X)served to advance the gospel, ¹³ so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard^[f] and ^(Y)to all the rest that ^(Z)my imprisonment is for Christ. ¹⁴ And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ^(AA)to speak the word^[g] without fear.

^15 (AB)Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. ¹⁶ The latter do it out of love, ^(AC)knowing that I am put here for ^(AD)the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former proclaim Christ ^(AE)out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice,