Jeremiah 29

1 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,

THUS SAITH THE LORD AGAINST THE PHILISTINES;

2 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 —

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 Eleasah son of Shaphan, and Gemariah son of Hilkijah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon — to 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 said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, to all the removal that I removed from Jerusalem to 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 abide; and plant ye 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 for your sons wives, and your daughters give to husbands, and they bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and ye are not few;

How long wilt thou smite, O sword of the Lord? how long will it be ere thou art quiet? return into thy sheath, rest, and be removed.

7 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.

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 saith the Lord; There is no longer wisdom in Thaeman, counsel has perished from the wise ones, their wisdom is gone,

8 '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;

their place has been deceived. Dig deep for a dwelling, ye 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 they are prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, an affirmation of Jehovah.

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

10 '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.

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 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.

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

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

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

13 And ye have sought Me, and have found, for ye seek Me with all your heart;

for by myself I have sworn, saith the Lord, that thou shalt 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 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.

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

15 'Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised up to us prophets in Babylon,

I have made thee small among the nations, utterly contemptible among men.

16 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;

Thine insolence has risen up against thee, the fierceness of thine 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 thee down.

17 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.

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

18 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,

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

19 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.

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 ye 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 'And ye, hear ye a word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity that I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon,

Therefore hear ye 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 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,

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

22 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;

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

25 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 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 And now, why hast thou not pushed against Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is making himself a prophet to you?

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

30 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,

31 '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 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.'