Jeremiah 29

1 This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the exiles, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon;

2 (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)

(After king Jechonyah and the queen-mother, and the court-officers, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the locksmiths, were departed from Jerusalem; )

3 The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:

By the hand of El'assah the son of Shaphan, and Gemaryah the son of Chilkiyah, [whom Zedekiah the king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ] saying,

4 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the exiles, whom I have caused to be carried into exile from Jerusalem unto Babylon,

5 “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.

Build ye houses, and dwell therein; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit;

6 Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.

Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may multiply there, and not be diminished.

7 Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

And seek the welfare of the city whither I have banished you, and pray in its behalf unto the Lord; for in its welfare shall ye fare well.

8 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.

For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Let not your prophets, that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you, and do not hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamt;

9 For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”

For with falsehood do they prophesy unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.

10 For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.

For thus hath said the Lord, Because only after the accomplishment of seventy years for Babylon, will I visit you, and fulfill respecting you my good word, in causing you to return to this place.

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

For I alone know the thoughts that I entertain respecting you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a [happy] future and hope.

12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

And you will call upon me, and ye will go and will pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

And ye will seek me, and shall find me, for ye will search for me with all your heart.

14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

And I will be found of you, saith the Lord; and I will bring back your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will cause you to return unto the place whence I have banished you.

15 Because you may say, “The LORD has raised up for us prophets in Babylon,”

Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon.

16 this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile—

But thus hath said the Lord concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into exile;

17 this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten.

Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will send out against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence; and I will render them like the detestable figs, that cannot be eaten, from being so bad.

18 I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.

And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will make them a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, and an astonishment, and a derision, and a disgrace, among all the nations whither I have driven them;

19 I will do this because they have not listened to My words, declares the LORD, which I sent to them again and again through My servants the prophets. And neither have you exiles listened, declares the LORD.”

For the reason that they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, since I sent unto them my servants the prophets, causing them to rise up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord.

20 So hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

But ye—hear ye the word of the Lord, all ye exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.

Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Achab the son of Kolayah, and of Zedekiah the son of Ma'asseyah, who prophesy unto you in my name falsehood, Behold, I will give them up into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon: and he shall smite them before your eyes.

22 Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’

And a curse shall be derived from them for all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Achab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;”

23 For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”

Because they have done scandalous deeds in Israel, and have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and have spoken in my name falsehood, which I had not commanded them; whereas I am the one that know, and am the witness, saith the Lord.

24 You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that

And to Shema'yahu the Nechelamite shalt thou say, as followeth,

25 this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:

Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent in thy name letters unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephanyah the son of Ma'asseyah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

26 ‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons.

The Lord hath appointed thee priest in the place of Jehoyada' the priest, that ye should be superintendents in the house of the Lord, for every man that is mad, and that prophesieth, that thou shouldst put him in the stocks, and in prison:

27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?

And now, why hast thou not rebuked Jeremiah of 'Anathoth, who prophesieth to you?

28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’”

For the reason that he hath sent unto us to Babylon saying, It will last a long time: build ye houses, and dwell therein; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit thereof.

29 (Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.)

And Zephanyah the priest read the letter before the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

31 “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,

Send to all the exiles, saying, Thus hath said the Lord concerning Shema'yah the Nechlamite, Whereas Shema'yah hath prophesied unto you, while I have not sent him, and he hath caused you to rely on a falsehood:

32 this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will inflict punishment on Shema'yah the Nechlamite, and on his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell in the midst of this people; and he shall not behold the good that I am doing for my people, saith the Lord; because he hath spoken revolt against the Lord.