Chapter 29

Message to the Exiles

1 Now these are the words of the aletter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

2 (This was after King aJeconiah and the bqueen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.)

3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of aHilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have asent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

5 ‘aBuild houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their 1produce.

6 ‘Take awives and 1become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.

7 ‘aSeek the 1welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and bpray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its 1welfare you will have 1welfare.’

8 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your aprophets who are in your midst and your diviners bdeceive you, and do not listen to 1cthe dreams which 2they dream.

9 ‘For they aprophesy falsely to you in My name; bI have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When aseventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My bgood word to you, to bring you back to this place.

11 ‘For I know the aplans that I 1have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for bwelfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a chope.

12 ‘Then you will acall upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will blisten to you.

13 ‘You will aseek Me and find Me when you bsearch for Me with all your heart.

14 ‘I will be afound by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will brestore your 1fortunes and will cgather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will dbring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up aprophets for us in Babylon’—

16 for thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did anot go with you into exile—

17 thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the asword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like bsplit-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness.

18 ‘I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will amake them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a bcurse and a horror and a chissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,

19 because they have anot listened to My words,’ declares the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by bMy servants the prophets; but you did not listen,’ declares the Lord.

20 “You, therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles, whom I have asent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are aprophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes.

22 ‘Because of them a acurse will be 1used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon broasted in the fire,

23 because they have aacted foolishly in Israel, and bhave committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have cspoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who dknows and am a witness,” declares the Lord.’ ”

24 To aShemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,

25 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have sent aletters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to bZephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

26 “The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the 1aoverseer in the house of the Lord over every bmadman who cprophesies, to dput him in the stocks and in the iron collar,

27 now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of aAnathoth who prophesies to you?

28 “For he has asent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be blong; cbuild houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their 1produce.’ ” ’ ”

29 aZephaniah the priest read this letter 1to Jeremiah the prophet.

30 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying,

31 “Send to aall the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning bShemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has cprophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has dmade you trust in a lie,”

32 therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to apunish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his 1descendants; he will bnot have anyone living among this people, cand he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has 2dpreached rebellion against the Lord.” ’ ”

Chapter 30

Deliverance from Captivity Promised

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘aWrite all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.

3 ‘For behold, adays are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will brestore the 1fortunes of My people cIsrael and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also dbring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’ ”

4 Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:

5 “For thus says the Lord,

‘1I have heard a sound of aterror,

Of dread, and there is no peace.

6 ‘Ask now, and see

If a male can give birth.

Why do I see every man

With his hands on his loins, aas a woman in childbirth?

And why have all faces turned pale?

7 ‘Alas! for that aday is great,

There is bnone like it;

And it is the time of Jacob’s cdistress,

But he will be dsaved from it.

8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will abreak his yoke from off 1their neck and will tear off 1their bbonds; and strangers will no longer cmake 2them their slaves.

9 ‘But they shall serve the Lord their God and aDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10 ‘aFear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,

‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;

For behold, I will save you bfrom afar

And your 1offspring from the land of their captivity.

And Jacob will return and will be cquiet and at ease,

And dno one will make him afraid.

11 ‘For aI am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;

For I will bdestroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,

Only I will cnot destroy you completely.

But I will dchasten you justly

And will by no means leave you unpunished.’

12 “For thus says the Lord,

‘Your wound is incurable

And your ainjury is serious.

13 ‘There is no one to plead your cause;

No healing for your sore,

aNo recovery for you.

14 ‘All your alovers have forgotten you,

They do not seek you;

For I have bwounded you with the wound of an enemy,

With the cpunishment of a dcruel one,

Because your einiquity is great

And your fsins are numerous.

15 ‘Why do you cry out over your injury?

Your pain is incurable.

Because your iniquity is great

And your sins are numerous,

I have done these things to you.

16 ‘Therefore all who adevour you will be devoured;

And all your adversaries, every one of them, bwill go into captivity;

And those who plunder you will be for plunder,

And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.

17 ‘For I will 1restore you to 2ahealth

And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,

‘Because they have called you an boutcast, saying:

“It is Zion; no one 3cares for her.” ’

Restoration of Jacob

18 “Thus says the Lord,

‘Behold, I will arestore the 1fortunes of the tents of Jacob

And bhave compassion on his dwelling places;

And the ccity will be rebuilt on its ruin,

And the dpalace will stand on its rightful place.

19 ‘From them will proceed athanksgiving

And the voice of those who 1bcelebrate;

And I will cmultiply them and they will not be diminished;

I will also dhonor them and they will not be insignificant.

20 ‘1Their children also will be as formerly,

And 2their congregation shall be aestablished before Me;

And I will punish all 2their oppressors.

21 ‘1Their aleader shall be one of them,

And 1their ruler shall come forth from 1their midst;

And I will bbring him near and he shall approach Me;

For 2who would dare to risk his life to capproach Me?’ declares the Lord.

22 ‘You shall be aMy people,

And I will be your God.’ ”

23 Behold, the atempest of the Lord!

Wrath has gone forth,

A 1sweeping tempest;

It will burst on the head of the wicked.

24 The afierce anger of the Lord will not turn back

Until He has performed and until He has accomplished

The intent of His heart;

In the blatter days you will understand this.

Chapter 31

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

1 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the aGod of all the bfamilies of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

2 Thus says the Lord,

“The people who survived the sword

aFound grace in the wilderness—

Israel, when it went to bfind its rest.”

3 The Lord appeared to 1him from afar, saying,

“I have aloved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore I have drawn you with blovingkindness.

4 “aAgain I will build you and you will be rebuilt,

O virgin of Israel!

Again you will 1take up your btambourines,

And go forth to the dances of the cmerrymakers.

5 “Again you will aplant vineyards

On the 1hills of Samaria;

The planters will plant

And will 2enjoy them.

6 “For there will be a day when watchmen

On the hills of Ephraim call out,

‘Arise, and alet us go up to Zion,

To the Lord our God.’ ”

7 For thus says the Lord,

“aSing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

And shout among the 1bchief of the …