Jeremiah 29
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to athe surviving elders of the exiles, and to bthe priests, bthe prophets, and ball the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after aKing Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of aShaphan and Gemariah the son of bHilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 aBuild houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and apray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: aDo not let your prophets and byour diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for ait is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; bI did not send them, declares the Lord.
10 “For thus says the Lord: aWhen seventy years are completed for Babylon, bI will visit you, cand I will fulfill to you my promise cand bring you back to this place. 11 aFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, bto give you a future and a hope. 12 aThen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, aand I will hear you. 13 aYou will seek me and find me, when you seek me bwith all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, aand I will restore your fortunes and bgather you from all the nations and all the places cwhere I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ 16 thus says the Lord concerning athe king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: 17 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them asword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like bvile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with asword, famine, and pestilence, band will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, cto be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations dwhere I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, athat I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ 20 Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles awhom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, awho are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22 aBecause of them bthis curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, cwhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” 23 because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, athey have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and athey have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. bI am the one who knows, band I am witness, declares the Lord.’”
Shemaiah’s False Prophecy
24 To aShemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: 25 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to aZephaniah the son of bMaaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have acharge in the house of the Lord bover every madman who prophesies, to put him in cthe stocks and neck irons. 27 Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah aof Anathoth who is prophesying to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; abuild houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”
29 aZephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 aThen the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning aShemaiah of Nehelam: Because aShemaiah had prophesied to you bwhen I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, 32 therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish aShemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, band he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, cfor he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.