Jeremiah 29:1-23 - Jeremiah's Letter To The Exiles In Babylon
1 Now 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, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away 2 (after Jeconiah the king, and the queen-mother, and the eunuchs, [and] the rulers of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem), 3 by 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 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 ye houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters. And take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters, and multiply ye there, and be not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to LORD for it, for in the peace of it ye shall have peace.
8 For thus says LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets who are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you, nor hearken ye to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them, says LORD.
10 For thus says 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. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end. 12 And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray to me, and I will hearken to you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found by you, says 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 LORD, and I will bring you again to the place from where
15 Because ye have said, LORD has raised us up prophets in Babylon, 16 thus says LORD concerning the king who sits upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who have not gone forth with you into captivity, 17 thus says LORD of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten they are so bad. 18 And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an execration, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and 19 because they have not hearkened to my words, says LORD, with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them. But ye would not hear, says LORD.
20 Hear ye therefore the word of LORD, all ye of the captivity whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 Thus says 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 Nebuchadrezzar king of 22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, 23 because they have wrought 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 LORD.