Jeremiah 29

¹Now 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;

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;)

³By 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,

⁴This 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:

⁵Go on building houses and living in them, and planting gardens and using the fruit of them;

⁶Take 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.

⁷And 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.

⁸For 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;

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

¹⁰For 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.

¹¹For 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.

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

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

¹⁴I 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.

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

¹⁶For 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;

¹⁷This 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.

¹⁸I 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:

¹⁹Because 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.

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

²¹This 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.

²²And 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;

²³Because 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.

²⁴About Shemaiah the Nehelamite.

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

²⁶The 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.

²⁷So why have you made no protest against Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is acting as a prophet to you?

²⁸For 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.

²⁹And Zephaniah the priest made clear to Jeremiah the prophet what was said in the letter, reading it to him.

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

³¹Send 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;

³²For 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.

Jeremiah 29

¹Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,

²(after that Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths, had departed from Jerusalem),

³by 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,

⁴"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵'Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit.

⁶Take wives, and father sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and do not be diminished.

⁷Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you shall have peace.'

⁸For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Do not let your prophets who are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.

⁹For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: I have not sent them,' says the Lord.

¹⁰"For thus says the Lord, 'After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

¹¹For I know the plans that I have for you,' says the Lord, 'plans for your welfare, and not for calamity, to give you hope and a future.

¹²You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

¹³You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.

¹⁴I will be found by you,' says the Lord, 'and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you,' says the Lord; 'and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.'

¹⁵"Because you have said, 'The Lord has raised us up prophets in Babylon';

¹⁶thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who haven't gone forth with you into captivity;

¹⁷thus says the Lord of hosts; 'Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that can't be eaten, they are so bad.

¹⁸I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them;

¹⁹because they have not listened to my words,' says the Lord, 'with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear,' says the Lord.

²⁰'Hear therefore the word of the Lord, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.'

²¹"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: 'Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes;

²²and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, "The Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire";

²³because they have worked folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am he who knows, and am witness,' says the Lord."

²⁴"Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,

²⁵'Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, "Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

²⁶'The Lord has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of the Lord, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles.

²⁷Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you,

²⁸because he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, "The captivity is long: build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit?"'"'

²⁹Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

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

³¹"Send to all them of the captivity, saying, 'Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: "Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I did not send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie;

³²therefore," thus says the Lord, "Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he see the good that I will do to my people, says the Lord, because he has spoken rebellion against the Lord."'"