Jeremiah Chapter 29
1 The Letter Jeremiah Sent from Jerusalem
to the Rest of the Elders, Priests, Prophets, and People
Nebuchadnezzar Had Taken from Jerusalem to Babylon
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
(2 This was after King Jeconiah/Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the court officials, the other officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and smiths were deported from Jerusalem.) 3 Jeremiah sent the letter by Elasah Ben-Shaphan and Gemariah Ben-Hilkiah, ambassadors Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Babylon:
Jer 29:1-3
4 “Yahveh of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to the exiles he’s sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they grow. 6 Get married and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands to have sons and daughters. Multiply there, don’t decrease. 7 Look out for the welfare of the city where I’ve sent you. Pray to me on its behalf; in its welfare you’ll fair well. 8 Don’t let your prophets and fortunetellers mislead you with their dreams. 9 They’re lying in my name. I haven’t sent them.
10 “At the end of 70 years in Babylon, I’ll fulfill my promise to bring you back here. 11 I know my plans for giving you hope and a future. 12 Then you’ll pray, and I’ll listen. 13 You’ll look for me and find me when you search with all your heart. 14 I’ll restore your fortunes and gather you back to the place I exiled you from.
Jer 29:4-14
15 “Because you’ve said, ‘Yahveh has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ 16 this is what I say about the king on David’s throne and about your brothers in this city who didn’t go into exile with you: 17-18 I’ll chase them with sword, famine, and disease. They’ll be like burst-open figs no one can eat because they’re rotten. I’ll make them a terror, a curse, something abhorred, to gasp at, a disgrace among the nations where I’ve banished them. 19 They didn’t listen when I sent them my prophets time and again. 20 So, you exiles that I’ve sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon, listen to what I’m telling you.
21 “This is what Yahveh says about Ahab Ben-Kolaiah and Zedekiah Ben-Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in my name: ‘I’ll deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar; he’ll execute them in your presence. 22 The exiles from Judah in Babylon will use this curse, “Yahveh make you like Zedekiah and Ahab that the king of Babylon roasted in fire.” 23 They acted foolishly in Israel and committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They lied in my name. I’m the One who knows; I see everything that happens.’”
Jer 29:15-23
A Message for Shemaiah
24Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite,
25 “Because you’ve sent letters in your own name to the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah Ben-Maaseiah the priest and all the other priests, and said, 26 ‘Yahveh has made you priests in place of Jehoiada, to oversee his Temple over every mad man that prophesies, to put him in stocks and an iron collar. 27 Why haven’t you rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who prophesies to you? 28 He sent to us in Babylon and said, “It will be a long exile. Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they grow.”’”
Jer 29:24-28
29 Zephaniah the priest read that letter to Jeremiah, 30 and a message came from Yahveh to Jeremiah, 31 “Send to all the exiles:
‘Yahveh says this about Shemaiah because he’s prophesied to you though I didn’t send him and made you believe a lie: 32 “I’m about to punish him. He won’t have any descendants or see the good I’m going to do for my people, because he incited rebellion against me.”’”
Jer 29:29-32