Jeremiah 29

1 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;

THUS SAITH THE LORD AGAINST THE PHILISTINES;

2 (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; )

Behold, waters come up from the north, and shall become a sweeping torrent, and it shall sweep away the land, and its fulness; the city, and them that dwell in it: and men shall cry and all that dwell in the land shall howl,

3 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,

at the sound of his rushing, at [the sound of] his hoofs, and at the rattling of his chariots, at the noise of his wheels: the fathers turned not to their children because of the weakness of their hands,

4 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,

in the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines: and I will utterly destroy Tyre and Sidon and all the rest of their allies: for the Lord will destroy the remaining [inhabitants] of the islands.

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

Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ascalon is cast away, and the remnant of the Enakim.

6 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.

How long will you strike, O sword of the Lord? how long will it be ere you are quiet? return into your sheath, rest, and be removed.

7 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.

How shall it be quiet, whereas the Lord has given it a commission against Ascalon, and against the regions on the sea-coast, to awake against the remaining [countries]! CONCERNING IDUMEA, thus says the Lord; There is no longer wisdom in Thaeman, counsel has perished from the wise ones, their wisdom is gone,

8 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;

their place has been deceived. Dig deep for a dwelling, you that inhabit Daedam, for he has wrought grievously: I brought trouble upon him in the time at which I visited him.

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

For grape gatherers are come, who shall not leave you a remnant; as thieves by night, they shall lay their hand upon [your possessions].

10 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.

For I have stripped Esau, I have uncovered their secret places; they shall have no power to hide themselves, they have perished [each] by the hand of his brother, my neighbour, and it is impossible

11 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.

for your fatherless one to be left to live, but I shall live, and the widows trust in me.

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

For thus says the Lord; They who were not appointed to drink the cup have drunk [it]; and you shall by no means be cleared:

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

for by myself I have sworn, says the Lord, that you shall be in the midst of her an impassable [land], and a reproach, and a curse; and all her cities shall be desert for ever.

14 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.

I have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent messengers to the nations, [saying, ]Assemble yourselves, and come against her; rise you up to war.

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

I have made you small amongst the nations, utterly contemptible amongst men.

16 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;

Your insolence has risen up against you, the fierceness of your heart has burst the holes of the rocks, it has seized upon the strength of a lofty hill; for as an eagle he set his nest on high: thence will I bring you down.

17 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.

And Idumea shall be a desert: every one that passes by shall hiss at it.

18 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;

As Sodom was overthrown and Gomorrha and they that sojourned in her, says the Lord Almighty, no man shall dwell there, nor shall any son of man inhabit there.

19 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.

Behold, he shall come up as a lion out of the midst of Jordan to the place of Aetham: for I will speedily drive them from it, and do you set the young men against her: for who is like me? and who will withstand me? and who [is] this shepherd, who shall confront me?

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

Therefore hear you the counsel of the Lord, which he has framed against Idumea; and his device, which he has devised against the inhabitants of Thaeman: surely the least of the sheep shall be swept off; surely their dwelling shall be made desolate for them.

21 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.

For at the sound of their fall the earth was scared, and the cry of the sea was not heard.

22 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;”

Behold, he shall look [upon her] as an eagle, and spread forth [his] wings over her strongholds; and the heart of the mighty men of Idumea shall be in that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

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

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

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

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

31 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 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.