< 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,
Jeremiah the prophet wrote this letter and sent it from Jerusalem to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, the prophets, and everyone else who had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
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 —
This was after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metals-workers had been exiled from Jerusalem.
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,
Elasah, son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, son of Hilkiah, took the letter with them when Zedekiah king of Judah sent them to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. In the letter Jeremiah wrote:
4 'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, to all the removal that I removed from Jerusalem to Babylon,
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 Build ye houses, and abide; and plant ye gardens, and eat their fruit;
Build yourselves houses there to live in. Plant gardens and grow food to eat.
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;
Get married and have children. Arrange for your children to get married so they can have children too. Increase in number, don't decrease.
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.
Help make the city where I've exiled you more prosperous. Pray to the Lord for it, since as it prospers, so will you.
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;
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Don't be fooled by your prophets and fortune-tellers, and don't listen to any dreams they interpret for you.
9 For with falsehood they are prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, an affirmation of Jehovah.
They are prophesying lies to you in my name; I have not sent them, declares the Lord.
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.
This is what the Lord says: When the seventy years exile in Babylon are over, I will see to you and keep my promise to bring you back to Jerusalem.
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.
I know what I intend to do for you, declares the Lord. I plan good things for you and not bad. I'm going to give you a future and a hope.
12 'And ye have called Me, and have gone, and have prayed unto Me, and I have hearkened unto you,
Then you will call for my help, you will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.
13 And ye have sought Me, and have found, for ye seek Me with all your heart;
You will look for me and you will find me when you're completely committed to looking for me.
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 will let you find me, declares the Lord. I will end your captivity, gathering you from all the nations and places where I scattered you, declares the Lord. I will bring you back home to the place from where I sent you into exile.
15 'Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised up to us prophets in Babylon,
But if you argue, “The Lord has provided prophets for us in Babylon,”
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;
this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David's throne and everyone who's left in Jerusalem, your fellow citizens who weren't taken with you into exile.
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.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: I'm going send war and famine and disease against them. I'll make them like rotten figs, so bad that they can't be eaten.
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,
I will chase them down with war and famine and disease. I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified by them. They will become a curse word, totally ruined, people to be mocked and criticized among all the nations where I scatter them.
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.
I'm going to do this because they haven't obeyed to my words, declares the Lord, which I sent to them time and again through my servants the prophets. You exiles haven't obeyed me either, declares the Lord.
20 'And ye, hear ye a word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity that I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon,
So listen to the word of the Lord, all you exiles I sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.
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,
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name. I'm going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them right before your eyes.
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;
Because of what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah in Babylon will curse others like this: “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, burned alive by the king of Babylon!”
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.
They did outrageous things in Israel—they committed adultery with their neighbor's wives and told lies in my name. I didn't tell them to say anything. I am the one who knows what they did, and I can witness to it, declares the Lord.
24 'And unto Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou dost speak, saying,
Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite
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,
that this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: On your own authority you sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, and to 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.
“Zephaniah, the Lord has chosen you as priest to replace Jehoiada, to be in charge of the Lord's Temple. In that capacity you are required to put in the stocks and neck irons any crazy person who claims to be a prophet.
27 And now, why hast thou not pushed against Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is making himself a prophet to you?
So why haven't you not punished Jeremiah of Anathoth, who claims to be a prophet among 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.'
You should have done this because he has sent a letter to us here in Babylon, stating, ‘The exile will last a long time. So build yourselves houses there to live in. Plant gardens and grow food to eat.’”
29 And Zephaniah the priest readeth this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
However, Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.
30 And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,
Then the Lord told Jeremiah:
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,
Send this message to all the exiles: This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Since Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I didn't send him, and has convinced you to believe in a lie,
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.'
this is what the Lord says: I'm going to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He won't have any family left among this people, and he won't experience the good things that I'm going to do for my people, declares the Lord, for he has promoted rebellion against the Lord.