Jeremiah 29–31

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

29These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ⁱthe surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^jthe priests, ^jthe prophets, and ^jall the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²This was after ^kKing Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. ³The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^lShaphan and Gemariah the son of ^mHilkiah, 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: ⁵ⁿBuild houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶Take 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. ⁷But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^opray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. ⁸For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^pDo not let your prophets and ^qyour diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,^{1 9}for ^rit is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^sI did not send them, declares the Lord.

¹⁰“For thus says the Lord: ^tWhen seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^uI will visit you, ^vand I will fulfill to you my promise ^vand bring you back to this place. ^11wFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare² and not for evil, ^xto give you a future and a hope. ^12yThen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^yand I will hear you. ^13zYou will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^awith all your heart. ¹⁴I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^band I will restore your fortunes and ^cgather you from all the nations and all the places ^dwhere 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,’ ¹⁶thus says the Lord concerning ^ethe 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 ^fsword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ^gvile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸I will pursue them with ^fsword, famine, and pestilence, ^hand will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ⁱto be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations ^dwhere I have driven them, ¹⁹because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, ^jthat I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ ²⁰Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ^kwhom 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, ^lwho 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. ^22mBecause of them ⁿthis curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^owhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” ²³because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ^pthey have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and ^pthey have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. ^qI am the one who knows, ^qand I am witness, declares the Lord.’ ”

Shemaiah’s False Prophecy

²⁴To ^rShemaiah 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 ^sZephaniah the son of ^tMaaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^ucharge in the house of the Lord ^vover every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^wthe stocks and neck irons. ²⁷Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^xof Anathoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^ybuild houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.” ’ ”

^29sZephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ^30zThen 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, ³²therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^aShemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^cand he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^dfor he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’ ”

Restoration for Israel and Judah

30The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^eWrite in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. ^3fFor behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, ^gwhen I will restore ^hthe fortunes of my people, ⁱIsrael and Judah, says the Lord, ^jand I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

⁴These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning ⁱIsrael and Judah:

⁵“Thus says the Lord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

⁶Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

^kWhy then do I see every man

with his hands on his stomach ^klike a woman in labor?

^lWhy has every face turned pale?

⁷Alas! ^mThat day is so great

ⁿthere is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be saved out of it.

⁸“And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will ^obreak his ^pyoke from off your neck, and I will ^oburst your bonds, ^qand foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.^{1 9}But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^rDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.

^10s“Then fear not, ^tO Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,

nor be dismayed, O Israel;

for behold, ^sI will save you from far away,

^uand your offspring from the land of their captivity.

^sJacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

^11vFor I am with you to save you,

declares the Lord;

^vI will make a full end of all the nations

among whom I scattered you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

^vI will ^wdiscipline you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

¹²“For thus says the Lord:

^xYour hurt is incurable,

^yand your wound is grievous.

¹³There is none to uphold your cause,

no medicine for your wound,

^zno healing for you.

^14aAll your lovers have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you;

for I have dealt you the blow of ^ban enemy,

the punishment ^cof a merciless foe,

because your guilt is great,

^dbecause your sins are flagrant.

^15xWhy do you cry out over your hurt?

^xYour pain is incurable.

Because your guilt is great,

^dbecause your sins are flagrant,

I have done these things to you.

^16eTherefore all who devour you shall be devoured,

and ^fall your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;

^gthose who plunder you shall be plundered,

^hand all who prey on you I will make a prey.

¹⁷ⁱFor I will restore ^jhealth to you,

and ^kyour wounds I will heal,

declares the Lord,

because ^lthey have called you an outcast:

^l‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’

¹⁸“Thus says the Lord:

Behold, ^mI will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city shall be rebuilt on ⁿits mound,

and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

^19oOut of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,

and the voices of those who celebrate.

^pI will multiply them, and they shall not be few;

I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.

^20qTheir children shall be as they were of old,

and their congregation shall be established before me,

and I will punish all who oppress them.

^21rTheir prince shall be one of themselves;

^rtheir ruler shall come out from their midst;

^sI will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,

^tfor who would dare of himself to approach me?

declares the Lord.

^22uAnd you shall be my people,

and I will be your God.”

^23vBehold ^wthe storm of the Lord!

Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

^24xThe fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished

the intentions of his mind.

^yIn the latter days you will understand this.

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

31^z“At that time, declares the Lord, ^aI will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

²Thus says the Lord:

“The people who survived the sword

found grace in the wilderness;

^bwhen Israel sought for rest,

³the Lord appeared to him¹ from far away.

^cI have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore ^dI have continued ^emy faithfulness to you.

^4fAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,

O virgin Israel!

^gAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines

and shall go forth in ^hthe dance of the merrymakers.

⁵ⁱAgain you shall plant vineyards

on the mountains of Samaria;

the planters shall plant

and shall enjoy the fruit.

⁶For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

in ^jthe hill country of Ephraim:

^k‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.’ ”

⁷For thus says the Lord:

^l“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for ^mthe chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

ⁿ‘O Lord, save your people,

the remnant of Israel.’

⁸Behold, I will bring them ^ofrom the north country

and ^pgather them from ^qthe farthest parts of the earth,

among them ^rthe blind and the lame,

the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;

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