Jeremiah 29

1 Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the responsible men among those who had been taken away, and to the priests and the prophets and to all the rest of the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken away prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylon;

Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,

2 (After Jeconiah the king and the queen-mother and the unsexed servants and the rulers of Judah and Jerusalem and the expert workmen and the metal-workers had gone away from Jerusalem; )

after the departure of Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the artificers, and the smiths, from Jerusalem,

3 By the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ) saying,

by the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ) saying: —

4 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said to all those whom I have taken away prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylon:

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5 Go on building houses and living in them, and planting gardens and using the fruit of them;

Build ye houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them.

6 Take wives and have sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may have sons and daughters; and be increased in number there and do not become less.

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

7 And be working for the peace of the land to which I have had you taken away prisoners, and make prayer to the Lord for it: for in its peace you will have peace.

And seek ye the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray for it to Jehovah, for in its peace shall be your peace.

8 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Do not let yourselves be tricked by the prophets who are among you, and the readers of signs, and give no attention to their dreams which they may have;

For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets and your diviners, who are in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

9 For they are saying to you what is false in my name: I have not sent them, says the Lord.

For they prophesy falsely to you in my name; I have not sent them, saith Jehovah.

10 For this is what the Lord has said: When seventy years are ended for Babylon, I will have pity on you and give effect to my good purpose for you, causing you to come back to this place.

For thus saith Jehovah: Surely, when seventy years shall be completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will perform for you my good promise, that I would bring you again to this place.

11 For I am conscious of my thoughts about you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you hope at the end.

For I know the designs which I have in mind concerning you, designs of good and not of evil, to give you a happy end, and fulfill your hopes.

12 And you will go on crying to me and making prayer to me, and I will give ear to you.

Then ye shall call upon me, and go in peace; ye shall pray to me, and I will hear you;

13 And you will be searching for me and I will be there, when you have gone after me with all your heart.

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

14 I will be near you again, says the Lord, and your fate will be changed, and I will get you together from all the nations and from all the places where I had sent you away, says the Lord; and I will take you back again to the place from which I sent you away prisoners.

And I will be found by you, saith Jehovah, and I will bring you back from captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith Jehovah; and I will bring you again to the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

15 For you have said, The Lord has given us prophets in Babylon.

Since ye say, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon,

16 For this is what the Lord has said about the king who is seated on the seat of David's kingdom, and about all the people living in this town, your countrymen who have not gone out with you as prisoners;

behold, thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that went not forth with you into captivity, —

17 This is what the Lord of armies has said: See, I will send on them the sword and need of food and disease, and will make them like bad figs, which are of no use for food, they are so bad.

thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs, which cannot be eaten for badness.

18 I will go after them, attacking them with the sword and with need of food and with disease, and will make them a cause of fear to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a wonder and a surprise and a name of shame among all the nations where I have sent them:

And I will persecute them with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, and I will give them up to oppression in all kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I drive them;

19 Because they have not given ear to my words, says the Lord, when I sent to them my servants the prophets, getting up early and sending them; but you did not give ear, says the Lord.

because they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jehovah, when I sent to them my servants, the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith Jehovah.

20 And now, give ear to the word of the Lord, all you whom I have sent away prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Hear ye, therefore, the word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said about Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and about Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who are saying to you what is false in my name: See, I will give them up into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your eyes.

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes.

22 And their fate will be used as a curse by all the prisoners of Judah who are in Babylon, who will say, May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, who were burned in the fire by the king of Babylon;

And from them shall be taken a curse among all the captives of Judah that are at Babylon, so that they shall say, “Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!”

23 Because they have done shame in Israel, and have taken their neighbours' wives, and in my name have said false words, which I did not give them orders to say; and I myself am the witness, says the Lord.

because they have practised villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I commanded them not. But I know it, and am a witness, saith Jehovah.

24 About Shemaiah the Nehelamite.

And to Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, shalt thou say,

25 Shemaiah the Nehelamite sent a letter in his name to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,

Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Because thou hast sent letters in thy name to all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

26 The Lord has made you priest in place of Jehoiada the priest, to be an overseer in the house of the Lord for every man who is off his head and is acting as a prophet, to put such men in prison and in chains.

Jehovah hath made thee priest in the room of Jehoiada the priest, that there should be officers in the house of Jehovah against every one that is mad and prophesieth, and that thou shouldst put him into the stocks, and into prison;

27 So why have you made no protest against Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is acting as a prophet to you?

now, therefore, why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, who prophesieth to you?

28 For he has sent to us in Babylon saying, The time will be long: go on building houses and living in them, and planting gardens and using the fruit of them.

For he hath sent to us at Babylon, saying, This captivity is long. Build ye houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

29 And Zephaniah the priest made clear to Jeremiah the prophet what was said in the letter, reading it to him.

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

30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, saying:

31 Send to all those who have been taken away, saying, This is what the Lord has said about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has been acting as a prophet to you, and I did not send him, and has made you put your faith in what is false;

Send to all those of the captivity, saying, Thus saith Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah the prophet hath prophesied to you, and I sent him not, and he hath caused you to trust in a lie,

32 For this cause the Lord has said, Truly I will send punishment on Shemaiah and on his seed; not a man of his family will have a place among this people, and he will not see the good which I am going to do to my people, says the Lord: because he has said words against the Lord.

therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, and his offspring. There shall descend from him not a man to dwell among this people, and he shall not behold the good which I will do for my people, saith Jehovah; for he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah.