Jeremiah 29 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

Message to the Exiles

29 Now these are the words of the ^(A)letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ² (This was after King ^(B)Jeconiah and the ^(C)queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) ³ The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of ^(D)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 exiles whom I have ^(E)sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, ⁵ ‘^(F)Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their ^[a]produce. ⁶ Take ^(G)wives and ^[b]become the fathers of 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 decrease. ^{7 (H)}Seek the ^[c]welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^(I)pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its ^[d]welfare you will have ^[e]welfare.’ ⁸ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your ^(J)prophets who are in your midst and your diviners ^(K)deceive you, and do not listen to ^[f](L)the dreams which ^[g]they dream. ⁹ For they ^(M)prophesy falsely to you in My name; ^(N)I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “For thus says the Lord, ‘When ^(O)seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ^(P)good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the ^(Q)plans that I ^[h]have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for ^(R)welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a ^(S)hope. ¹² Then you will ^(T)call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ^(U)listen to you. ¹³ You will ^(V)seek Me and find Me when you ^(W)search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be ^(X)found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(Y)restore your ^[i]fortunes and will ^(Z)gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will ^(AA)bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

¹⁵ “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up ^(AB)prophets for us in Babylon’— ¹⁶ for thus 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 did ^(AC)not go with you into exile— ¹⁷ thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the ^(AD)sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like ^(AE)split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. ¹⁸ I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will ^(AF)make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ^(AG)curse and a horror and a ^(AH)hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹ because they have ^(AI)not listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by ^(AJ)My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord. ²⁰ You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have ^(AK)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 are ^(AL)prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes. ²² Because of them a ^(AM)curse will be ^[j]used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon ^(AN)roasted in the fire, ²³ because they have ^(AO)acted foolishly in Israel, and ^(AP)have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have ^(AQ)spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who ^(AR)knows and am a witness,” declares the Lord.’”

²⁴ To ^(AS)Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, ²⁵ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent ^(AT)letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^(AU)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶ “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the ^[k](AV)overseer in the house of the Lord over every ^(AW)madman who ^(AX)prophesies, to ^(AY)put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, ²⁷ now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of ^(AZ)Anathoth who prophesies to you? ²⁸ For he has ^(BA)sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be ^(BB)long; ^(BC)build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their ^[l]produce.’”’”

^{29 (BD)}Zephaniah the priest read this letter ^[m]to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰ Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, ³¹ “Send to ^(BE)all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^(BF)Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has ^(BG)prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has ^(BH)made you trust in a lie,” ³² therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to ^(BI)punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ^[n]descendants; he will ^(BJ)not have anyone living among this people, ^(BK)and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has ^[o](BL)preached rebellion against the Lord.”’”

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 29:5 Lit fruit
2. Jeremiah 29:6 Lit beget
3. Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
4. Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
5. Jeremiah 29:7 Or peace
6. Jeremiah 29:8 Lit your
7. Jeremiah 29:8 Lit you
8. Jeremiah 29:11 Lit am planning
9. Jeremiah 29:14 Or captivity
10. Jeremiah 29:22 Lit taken
11. Jeremiah 29:26 Lit overseers
12. Jeremiah 29:28 Lit fruit
13. Jeremiah 29:29 Lit in the ears of
14. Jeremiah 29:32 Lit seed
15. Jeremiah 29:32 Lit spoken

Cross references

1. Jeremiah 29:1 : 2 Chr 30:1, 6; Esth 9:20; Jer 29:25, 29
2. Jeremiah 29:2 : 2 Kin 24:12-16; 2 Chr 36:9, 10; Jer 22:24-28; 24:1; 27:20
3. Jeremiah 29:2 : 2 Kin 24:12, 15; Jer 13:18; 22:26
4. Jeremiah 29:3 : 1 Chr 6:13
5. Jeremiah 29:4 : Jer 24:5
6. Jeremiah 29:5 : Jer 29:28
7. Jeremiah 29:6 : Jer 16:2-4
8. Jeremiah 29:7 : Dan 4:27; 6:4, 5
9. Jeremiah 29:7 : Ezra 6:10; 7:23; Dan 4:19; 1 Tim 2:1, 2
10. Jeremiah 29:8 : Jer 27:9; 29:1
11. Jeremiah 29:8 : Jer 14:14; 23:21; 27:14, 15; 28:15; Eph 5:6
12. Jeremiah 29:8 : Jer 23:25, 27
13. Jeremiah 29:9 : Jer 27:15; 29:21
14. Jeremiah 29:9 : Jer 29:31
15. Jeremiah 29:10 : 2 Chr 36:21-23; Jer 25:12; 27:22; Dan 9:2; Zech 7:5
16. Jeremiah 29:10 : Jer 24:6, 7; Zeph 2:7
17. Jeremiah 29:11 : Ps 40:5; Jer 23:5, 6; 30:9, 10
18. Jeremiah 29:11 : Is 40:9-11; Jer 30:18-22
19. Jeremiah 29:11 : Jer 31:17; Hos 2:15
20. Jeremiah 29:12 : Ps 50:15; Jer 33:3; Dan 9:3
21. Jeremiah 29:12 : Ps 145:19
22. Jeremiah 29:13 : Deut 4:29; Ps 32:6; Matt 7:7
23. Jeremiah 29:13 : 1 Chr 22:19; 2 Chr 22:9; Jer 24:7
24. Jeremiah 29:14 : Deut 30:1-10; Ps 32:6; Is 55:6
25. Jeremiah 29:14 : Jer 30:3; 32:37-41
26. Jeremiah 29:14 : Is 43:5, 6; Jer 23:8; 32:37
27. Jeremiah 29:14 : Jer 3:14; 12:15; 16:15
28. Jeremiah 29:15 : Jer 29:21, 24
29. Jeremiah 29:16 : Jer 38:2, 3, 17-23
30. Jeremiah 29:17 : Jer 27:8; 29:18; 32:24
31. Jeremiah 29:17 : Jer 24:3, 8-10
32. Jeremiah 29:18 : Deut 28:25; 2 Chr 29:8; Jer 15:4; 24:9; 34:17; Ezek 12:15
33. Jeremiah 29:18 : Is 65:15; Jer 42:18
34. Jeremiah 29:18 : Jer 25:9; Lam 2:15, 16
35. Jeremiah 29:19 : Jer 6:19
36. Jeremiah 29:19 : Jer 25:4; 26:5; 35:15
37. Jeremiah 29:20 : Jer 24:5; Ezek 11:9; Mic 4:10
38. Jeremiah 29:21 : Jer 14:14, 15; 29:8, 9; Lam 2:14; 2 Pet 2:1
39. Jeremiah 29:22 : Is 65:15
40. Jeremiah 29:22 : Dan 3:6, 21
41. Jeremiah 29:23 : Gen 34:7; 2 Sam 13:12
42. Jeremiah 29:23 : Jer 5:8; 23:14
43. Jeremiah 29:23 : Jer 29:8, 9, 21
44. Jeremiah 29:23 : Prov 5:21; Jer 7:11; 16:17; Mal 3:5; Heb 4:13
45. Jeremiah 29:24 : Jer 29:31, 32
46. Jeremiah 29:25 : Jer 29:1
47. Jeremiah 29:25 : 2 Kin 25:18; Jer 21:1; 29:29; 37:3; 52:24
48. Jeremiah 29:26 : Jer 20:1
49. Jeremiah 29:26 : 2 Kin 9:11; Hos 9:7; Mark 3:21; John 10:20; Acts 26:24, 25; 2 Cor 5:13
50. Jeremiah 29:26 : Deut 13:1-5; Zech 13:1-5
51. Jeremiah 29:26 : Jer 20:1, 2; Acts 16:24
52. Jeremiah 29:27 : Jer 1:1
53. Jeremiah 29:28 : Jer 29:1
54. Jeremiah 29:28 : Jer 29:10
55. Jeremiah 29:28 : Jer 29:5
56. Jeremiah 29:29 : Jer 29:25
57. Jeremiah 29:31 : Jer 29:20
58. Jeremiah 29:31 : Jer 29:24
59. Jeremiah 29:31 : Jer 14:14, 15; 29:9, 23; Ezek 13:8-16, 22, 23
60. Jeremiah 29:31 : Jer 28:15
61. Jeremiah 29:32 : Jer 36:31
62. Jeremiah 29:32 : 1 Sam 2:30-34; Jer 22:30
63. Jeremiah 29:32 : 2 Kin 7:2, 19, 20; Jer 17:6; 29:10
64. Jeremiah 29:32 : Deut 13:5; Jer 28:16