Jeremiah's letter to the people in Babylon
1
Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from
Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives,
and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom
Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
2
(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes
of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, 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 unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon) saying,
Jeremiah sent a letter to people who Nebuchadnezzar took captive to Babylon, which said,
4Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried
away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto
Babylon;
This is what God says to the people he caused to be carried away to Babylon:
5
Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit
of them;
Build houses, plant gardens, and eat fruit.
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;
that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
Get married, have children, have your children get married and have kids.
7
And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried
away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall
ye have peace.
Seek peace in Babylon, where I caused you to be captive.
Pray to me for Babylon and I'll give you peace.
8
For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets
and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken
to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name.
9For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith
the LORD.
Don't let your prophets, diviners, and dreamers deceive you.
They prophesy falsely in my name.
10
For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at
Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing
you to return to this place.
After seventy years, [1]
I'll visit you and let you return to Jerusalem.
11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts
of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
12
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will
hearken unto 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 of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your
captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the
places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again
into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
15
Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;
Because I know what I'm thinking about you.
I'm thinking nice thoughts, not evil ones.
16
Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of
David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your
brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
But I will punish the people who stayed in Jerusalem and weren't taken captive to Babylon.
17Thus saith the 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 evil.
I'll send the sword, famine, and pestilence.
I'll make them like vile figs that are so evil they can't be eaten. [2]
18And I will
persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence,
and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an
astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations
whither I have driven them.
I'll persecute them with the sword, famine, and pestilence.
They'll be a curse, an astonishment, hissing, and a reproach to all nations.
19Because they have not hearkened to my words,
saith the LORD, which I sent
unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but
ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
20
Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I
have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:
Because they didn't listen to me or my prophets.
21Thus saith the LORD
of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the
son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into
the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before
your eyes;
I'll give Ahab and Zedekiah, who prophesied lies in my name to Nebuchadrezzar.
He'll kill them while you watch.
22
And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which
are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of
Babylon roasted in the fire;
23
Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery
with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which
I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
People will use it as a curse and say, "Let God do to you like he did to Zedekiah and Ahab,
who the king of Babylon roasted in a fire."
Jeremiah's letter to Shemaiah
24
Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,
25
Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou
hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and
to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
God also told Jeremiah to talk to Shemaiah. [3]
So Jeremiah said to Shemaiah,
This is what God says:
Because you sent letters in my name [4] to Zephaniah and everyone in Jerusalem, saying,
26
The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that
ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad,
and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in
the stocks.
God made you priest instead of Jehoiada.
Any insane person who makes himself a prophet should be put in prison.
27
Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which
maketh himself a prophet to you?
28
For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long:
build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of
them.
Why haven't you done this to Jeremiah?
29
And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the
prophet.
Zephaniah the priest read Shemaiah's letter to everyone in Jerusalem.
30
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
Then came God's word to Jeremiah, saying,
31
Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning
Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and
I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:
32
Therefore thus saith 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 behold the good that I will do for my people, saith
the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.
Write another letter to everyone in captivity, saying,
This is what God says:
I will punish Shemaiah and his children. [5]
None of them will live to see the things I do for my people,
because he has encouraged people to rebel against me.
29:1-23
Every Jot and Tittle: All the commandments in the Bible