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] words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the remnant of the elders of the removal, and unto the priests, and unto the prophets, and unto all the people — whom Nebuchadnezzar removed 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 the going forth of Jeconiah the king, and the mistress, and the officers, heads of Judah and Jerusalem, and the artificer, and the smith, 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 Eleasah son of Shaphan, and Gemariah son of Hilkijah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon — to 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 said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, to all the removal that I removed from Jerusalem to Babylon,

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

Build ye houses, and abide; and plant ye 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 for your sons wives, and your daughters give to husbands, and they bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and ye are not few;

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 peace of the city whither I have removed you, and pray for it unto Jehovah, for in its peace ye have peace.

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 said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Let not your prophets who [are] in your midst, and your diviners, lift you up, nor hearken ye unto their dreams, that ye are causing [them] to dream;

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

For with falsehood they are prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, an affirmation of Jehovah.

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 said Jehovah, Surely at the fulness of Babylon — seventy years — I inspect you, and have established towards you My good word, to bring you back unto 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 have known the thoughts that I am thinking towards you — an affirmation of Jehovah; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give to you posterity and hope.

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

'And ye have called Me, and have gone, and have prayed unto Me, and I have hearkened unto you,

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

And ye have sought Me, and have found, for ye seek 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 have been found of you — an affirmation of Jehovah; and I have turned back [to] your captivity, and have gathered you out of all the nations, and out of all the places whither I have driven you — an affirmation of Jehovah — and I have brought you back unto the place whence I removed you.

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

'Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised up to us 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—

Surely thus said Jehovah concerning the king who is sitting on the throne of David, and concerning all the people that is dwelling in this city, your brethren who went not forth with you in the removal;

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 said Jehovah of Hosts, Lo, I am sending among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I have given them up as figs that [are] vile, that are not eaten for badness.

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 have pursued after them with sword, with famine, and with pestilence, and have given them for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth, for a curse and for an astonishment, and for a hissing, and for a reproach 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.”

Because that they have not hearkened unto My words — an affirmation of Jehovah — that I sent unto them by My servants the prophets, rising early and sending, and ye hearkened not — an affirmation of Jehovah.

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

'And ye, hear ye a word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity that I have sent 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 said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten 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 taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that [are] in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with 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 that they have done folly in Israel, and commit adultery with the wives of their neighbours, and speak a word in My name falsely that I have not commanded them, and I [am] He who knoweth and a witness — an affirmation of Jehovah.

24 You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that

'And unto Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou dost speak, saying,

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 said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, saying, Because that thou hast sent in thy name letters unto all the people who [are] in Jerusalem, and unto Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and unto 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.

Jehovah hath made thee priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, for there being inspectors of the house of Jehovah, for every one mad and making himself a prophet, and thou hast put him unto the torture and unto the stocks.

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

And now, why hast thou not pushed against Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is making himself a prophet 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.’”

Because that he hath sent unto us to Babylon, saying, It [is] long, build ye houses, and abide; and plant ye gardens, and eat their fruit.'

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

And Zephaniah the priest readeth this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

And there is a word of Jehovah 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 unto all the removal, saying, Thus said Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Because that Shemaiah prophesied to you, and I — I have not sent him, and he doth cause you to trust on 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 said Jehovah, Lo, I am seeing after Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and after his seed, he hath none dwelling in the midst of this people, nor doth he look on the good that I am doing to My people — an affirmation of Jehovah — for apostasy he hath spoken against Jehovah.'