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 from Jerusalem, —unto the residue of the elders of the captivity, and unto the priests and unto the prophets and unto 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 that Jeconiah the king and the queen-mother and the eunuchs the princes of Judah and Jerusalem and the craftsmen and the smiths, had gone forth 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 son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar 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 Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Unto all the captivity whom I have suffered to be carried away captive 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 ye gardens and eat the fruit thereof;

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 beget sons and daughters, And take wives, for your sons, and, your daughters, give ye to husbands, That they may bear sons and daughters, —And so become ye many there and do not become few;

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 the welfare of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray for her unto Yahweh, —For in her welfare, shall ye have welfare.

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 Yahweh of hosts God of Israel, Let not your prophets that are in your midst nor your diviners beguile you, —Neither hearken ye unto your dreams which ye are dreaming;

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

For falsely, are they prophesying unto you in my name, —I have not sent them, Declareth Yahweh.

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 Yahweh, —That as soon as there are fulfilled to Babylon seventy years, I will visit you, —and establish for you my good word, by causing you to return unto 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 plans which I am planning for you Declareth Yahweh, —Plans of welfare and not of calamity, To give you a future and a hope.

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

So shall ye call upon me, —And go and pray unto me, —And I will hearken unto you;

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

So shall ye seek me and find, For ye will enquire after 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 of you, Declareth Yahweh, And will turn back your captivity, And will gather you out of all the nations and out of all the places whither I have driven you, Declareth Yahweh, And will bring you back into the place whence I had caused you to be carried away captive:

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

Because ye have said, —Yahweh 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;

For, thus, saith Yahweh Against the king who is sitting on the throne of David, and Against all the people who are remaining in this city, —your brethren who have not gone 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 Yahweh of hosts, Behold me! sending upon them sword famine, and pestilence, —So will I make them like the horrid figs, that 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:

Therefore will I pursue them with sword with famine and with pestilence, —And will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth A curse and an astonishment and a hissing and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven 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 hearkened not unto my words Declareth Yahweh, —which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, betimes, sending them yet hearkened they not Declareth Yahweh.

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

Ye, therefore, hear ye the word of Yahweh, 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 Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel Concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in my name, a falsehood, Behold me! delivering them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he will smite 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;

So shall there be taken up—from them—a curse, by all of the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon saying, —Yahweh 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 committed vileness in Israel And have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbours, And have spoken as a word in my name a falsehood, which I commanded them not, —And, I, am one who knoweth—and a witness Declareth Yahweh.

24 About Shemaiah the Nehelamite.

Also unto Shemaiah the Nehelamite, shalt thou speak, saying:

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

Thus, speaketh Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, saying, —Because, thou, hast sent in, thine own 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 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.

Yahweh, hath made thee priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be deputies in the house of Yahweh, to any man who is raving and prophesying, so shalt thou put him into the stocks and into the pillory:

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 rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is prophesying unto 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, on this account, hath he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, —’Tis, long! Build ye houses and dwell in them, And plant gardens and eat the fruit thereof.

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 hath read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet,

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

Therefore hath the word of Yahweh come unto 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 thou unto all them of the captivity, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, —Because Shemaiah, hath prophesied to you, when, I, had not sent him, And hath caused you to trust in falsehood,

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 Yahweh, —Behold me! bringing punishment upon Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and upon his seed, He shall have no man to dwell in the midst of this people, Nor shall he see the good that I am about to do for my people, Declareth Yahweh; Because revolt, hath he spoken against Yahweh.