Jeremiah 29

1Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto 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 captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,

2after that Jeconiah the king, and the queen-mother, and the officers, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;

3by 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:

4Thus saith YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon:

5Build ye houses, and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

6take 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.

7And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto YHWH for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

8For thus saith YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, beguile you, neither hearken ye to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

9For they prophesy falsely unto you in My name; I have not sent them, saith YHWH.

10For thus saith YHWH: After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will remember you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith YHWH, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

12And ye shall call upon Me, and go, and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you.

13And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.

14And I will be found of you, saith YHWH, and I will turn your captivity, and gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith YHWH; and I will bring you back unto the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

15For ye have said: ‘YHWH hath raised us up prophets in Babylon.’

16For thus saith YHWH concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

17thus saith YHWH 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.

18And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will make them a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them;

19because they have not hearkened to My words, saith YHWH, wherewith I sent unto them My servants the prophets, sending them betimes and often; but ye would not hear, saith YHWH.

20Hear ye therefore the word of YHWH, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

21Thus saith YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who 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;

22and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah that are in Babylon, saying: ‘YHWH make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire’;

23because they have wrought vile deeds in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I commanded them not; but I am He that knoweth, and am witness, saith YHWH.

24And concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt speak, saying:

25Thus speaketh YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: Because thou hast sent letters in thine own name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying:

26‘YHWH hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that there should be officers in the house of YHWH for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in the stocks and in the collar.

27Now therefore, why hast thou not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who maketh himself a prophet to you,

28forasmuch as he hath sent unto us in Babylon, saying: The captivity is long; build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them?’

29And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

30Then came the word of YHWH unto Jeremiah, saying:

31Send to all them of the captivity, saying: Thus saith YHWH concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he hath caused you to trust in a lie;

32therefore thus saith YHWH: 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 unto My people, saith YHWH; because he hath spoken perversion against YHWH.