CHAPTER 29
This
is the text
of the letter
that
Jeremiah
the prophet
sent
from Jerusalem
to
the rest
of the elders
among the exiles,
the priests,
the prophets,
and all
the others
Nebuchadnezzar
had carried into exile
from Jerusalem
to Babylon.
(This was after
King
Jeconiah,
the queen mother,
the court officials,
the officials
of Judah
and Jerusalem,
the craftsmen,
and the metalsmiths
had been exiled
from Jerusalem.)
The letter was entrusted to
Elasah
son
of Shaphan
and Gemariah
son
of Hilkiah,
whom
Zedekiah
king
of Judah
had sent
to
King
Nebuchadnezzar
in Babylon.
It stated:
“This is what
the LORD
of Hosts,
the God
of Israel,
says
to all
the exiles
I carried away
from Jerusalem
to Babylon:
Take
wives
and have
sons
and daughters.
Take
wives
for your sons
and give
your daughters
in marriage,
so that they too may have
sons
and daughters.
Multiply
there;
do not
decrease.
Seek
the prosperity
of the city
to which
I have sent you as exiles.
Pray
to
the LORD
on its behalf,
for
if it prospers,
you too will prosper.’
For
this is what
the LORD
of Hosts,
the God
of Israel,
says:
‘Do not
be deceived
by the prophets
and diviners
among you,
and do not
listen
to
the dreams
you elicit from them.
For
this is what
the LORD
says:
“When
Babylon’s
seventy
years
are complete,
I will attend to
you
and confirm
My promise
to restore
you
to
this
place.
For
I
know
the plans
I
have
for you,
declares
the LORD,
plans
to prosper you
and not
to harm you,
to give
you
a future
and a hope.
I will be found by you,
declares
the LORD,
and I will restore you
from captivity
and gather
you
from all
the nations
and places
to which
I have banished you,
declares
the LORD.
I will restore
you to
the place
from which
I sent
you
into exile."
this is what
the LORD
says
about
the king
who sits
on
David’s
throne
and
all
the people
who remain
in this
city,
your brothers
who
did not
go
with you
into exile.
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
“I will send
against them
sword,
famine,
and plague,
and I will make
them like rotten
figs,
so bad
that
they cannot be eaten.
I will pursue
them with sword,
famine,
and plague.
I will make
them
a horror
to all
the kingdoms
of the earth—
a curse,
a desolation,
and an object of scorn
and reproach
among all
the nations
to which
I banish them.
I will do this because
they have not
listened
to
My words,
declares
the LORD,
which
I sent
to
them
time and again
with My servants
the prophets.
And neither have you exiles
listened,
declares
the LORD.
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts,
the God
of Israel,
says
about
Ahab
son
of Kolaiah
and
Zedekiah
son
of Maaseiah,
who are prophesying
to you
lies
in My name:
“I will deliver
them
to
Nebuchadnezzar
king
of Babylon,
and he will kill them
before your very eyes.
Because
of them,
all
the exiles
of Judah
who
are in Babylon
will use this curse:
‘May the LORD
make
you like Zedekiah
and Ahab,
whom
the king
of Babylon
roasted
in the fire!’
For
they have committed
an outrage
in Israel
by committing adultery
with
the wives
of their neighbors
and speaking
lies
in My name,
which
I did not
command them to do.
I
am He who knows,
and I am a witness,
declares
the LORD.
“This is what
the LORD
of Hosts,
the God
of Israel,
says:
In your own name
you
have sent out
letters
to
all
the people
of Jerusalem,
to
the priest
Zephaniah
son
of Maaseiah,
and to
all
the priests,
saying:
‘The LORD
has appointed
you priest
in place of
Jehoiada,
to be
the chief officer
in the house
of the LORD,
responsible for any
madman
who acts like a prophet—
you must put
him
in
stocks
and neck irons.
For
he has sent
to us
in Babylon,
claiming:
The exile
will be long.
So build
houses
and settle down;
plant
gardens
and eat
their produce.’”
“Send
a message to
all
the exiles:
This is what
the LORD
says
concerning
Shemaiah
the Nehelamite.
Because
Shemaiah prophesied to you,
though I
did not
send him,
and made you trust
in
a lie,
this is what
the LORD
says:
Behold,
I will punish
Shemaiah
the Nehelamite
and his descendants.
He will have
no
one
left
among
this
people,
nor
will he see
the good
that
I
bring
to My people,
declares
the LORD,
for
he has preached
rebellion
against
the LORD."