Jeremiah 29–31

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Jews in Babylonia

29I, the prophet Jeremiah, sent a letter from Jerusalem to Babylonia. It was for the Jewish elders who were still alive there. It was also for the priests and prophets in Babylonia. And it was for all of the other people Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²It was sent to them after King Jehoiachin had been forced to leave Jerusalem. His mother and the court officials were taken with him. The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem and all of the skilled workers had also been forced to go to Babylon.

³I gave the letter to Elasah and Gemariah. Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had sent them to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. Elasah was the son of Shaphan. Gemariah was the son of Hilkiah. Here is what the letter said.

⁴The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He speaks to all those he forced to go from Jerusalem to Babylon. He says, ⁵“Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Get married. Have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons. Give your daughters to be married. Then they too can have sons and daughters. Increase your numbers there. Do not let the number of your people get smaller.

⁷“Also work for the success of the city I have sent you to. Pray to the Lord for that city. If it succeeds, you too will enjoy success.”

⁸The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Do not let the prophets trick you. Do not be fooled by those who claim to have secret knowledge. Do not listen to people who try to explain their dreams to you. ⁹All of them are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” announces the Lord.

¹⁰The Lord says, “You will be forced to live in Babylonia for 70 years. After they are over, I will come to you. My gracious promise to you will come true. I will bring you back home.

¹¹“I know the plans I have for you,” announces the Lord. “I want you to enjoy success. I do not plan to harm you. I will give you hope for the years to come. ¹²Then you will call out to me. You will come and pray to me. And I will listen to you. ¹³When you look for me with all your heart, you will find me.

¹⁴“I will be found by you,” announces the Lord. “And I will bring you back from where you were taken as prisoners. I will gather you from all of the nations. I will gather you from the places where I have forced you to go,” announces the Lord. “I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you away.”

¹⁵You might say, “The Lord has given us prophets in Babylonia.” ¹⁶But here is what the Lord says about the king who now sits on David’s throne. He also says it about all of the people who remain in this city. And he says it about all those who did not go with you to Babylon. ¹⁷The Lord who rules over all says, “I will send war, hunger and plague against them. I will make them like bad figs. They are so bad they can’t be eaten. ¹⁸I will hunt them down with war, hunger and plague. I will make all of the kingdoms on earth displeased with them. They will call down curses on them. All of the nations where I drive them will be shocked at them. They will make fun of them. And they will bring shame on them.

¹⁹“That is because they have not listened to my words,” announces the Lord. “I sent messages to them again and again. I sent them through my servants the prophets. And you who were taken to Babylon have not listened either,” announces the Lord.

²⁰So listen to the Lord’s message. Listen, all of you whom he has sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He speaks about Ahab and Zedekiah. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. Ahab is the son of Kolaiah. Zedekiah is the son of Maaseiah. The Lord says about Ahab and Zedekiah, “I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. He will put them to death. You will see it with your own eyes.

²²“Because of what happens to them, people will use their names when they call down curses on someone. All those who have been taken from Judah to Babylon will use their names in that way. They will say, ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab. The king of Babylonia burned them in the fire.’

²³“That will happen because they have done awful things in Israel. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives. They have spoken lies in my name. I did not tell them to do that. I know what they have done. And I am a witness to it,” announces the Lord.

Shemaiah Opposes Jeremiah

²⁴Tell Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, ²⁵“The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘You sent letters in your own name to all of the people in Jerusalem. You also sent them to the priest Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah. And you sent them to all of the other priests.

“ ‘You said to Zephaniah, ²⁶“The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada. He has put you in charge of the Lord’s house. You are supposed to arrest any crazy person who claims to be a prophet. You should put him in prison. You should put iron bands around his neck.

²⁷“ ‘ “So why haven’t you punished Jeremiah from Anathoth? He claims to be a prophet among you. ²⁸He has sent a message to us in Babylon. It says, ‘You will be there a long time. So build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.’ ” ’ ”

²⁹But the priest Zephaniah read the letter to me. ³⁰Then a message came to me from the Lord. He said, ³¹“Send a message to all of the people who were taken away. Tell them, ‘The Lord speaks about Shemaiah, the Nehelamite. He says, “Shemaiah has prophesied to you. But I did not send him. He has made you believe a lie.

³²“ ‘ “So I say, ‘I will certainly punish Shemaiah, the Nehelamite. I will also punish his children after him. He will not have any children left among these people. I will do good things for my people. But he will not see them,’ ” ’ ” announces the Lord. “ ‘ “ ‘That is because he has taught people to turn against me.’ ” ’ ”

Israel Will Return to the Lord

30A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“I am the Lord. I am the God of Israel. I say, ‘Write on a scroll all of the words I have spoken to you. ³A new day is coming,’ ” announces the Lord. “ ‘At that time I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from where they have been taken as prisoners. I will bring them back to this land. Long ago I gave it to their people to have as their own,’ ” says the Lord.

⁴Here are the words the Lord spoke about Israel and Judah. He said, ⁵“I am the Lord. I say,

“ ‘Cries of fear are heard.

There is terror. There isn’t any peace.

⁶Ask and see.

Can a man give birth to children?

Then why do I see every strong man

with his hands on his stomach?

Each of them is acting like a woman having a baby.

Every face is as pale as death.

⁷How awful that day will be!

No other day will be like it.

It will be a time of trouble for the people of Jacob.

But they will be saved out of it.

⁸“ ‘At that time I will break the yoke off their necks,’

announces the Lord who rules over all.

‘I will tear off the ropes that hold them.

People from other lands will not make them slaves anymore.

⁹Instead, they will serve me.

And they will serve David their king.

I will raise him up for them.

I am the Lord their God.

¹⁰“ ‘People of Jacob, do not be afraid.

You are my servant.

Israel, do not be terrified,’ ”

announces the Lord.

“ ‘You can be sure that I will save you.

I will bring you out of a place far away.

I will bring your children back

from the land where they were taken.

Your people will have peace and security again.

And no one will make them afraid.

¹¹I am with you. I will save you,’ ”

announces the Lord.

“ ‘I will completely destroy all of the nations

among which I scatter you.

But I will not completely destroy you.

I will correct you. But I will be fair.

I will punish you in a way that is fair and right.’ ”

¹²The Lord says,

“Your wound can’t be cured.

Your pain can’t be healed.

¹³No one will stand up for you.

There isn’t any medicine for your sore.

There isn’t any healing for you.

¹⁴All those who were going to help you have forgotten you.

They do not care about you.

I have struck you as if I were your enemy.

I have punished you as if I were very mean.

That is because your guilt is so great.

You have sinned so much.

¹⁵Why do you cry out about your wound?

Your pain can’t be healed.

Your guilt is very great.

And you have committed many sins.

That is why I have done all of those things to you.

¹⁶“But everyone who destroys you will be destroyed.

All of your enemies will be forced

to leave their countries.

Those who steal from you will be stolen from.

I will take the belongings

of those who take things from you.

¹⁷But I will make you healthy again.

I will heal your wounds,”

announces the Lord.

“That is because you have been thrown out.

You are called Zion, the one no one cares about.”

¹⁸The Lord says,

“I will bless Jacob’s people with great success again.

I will show tender love to Israel.

Jerusalem will be rebuilt where it was destroyed.

The palace will stand in its proper place.

¹⁹From those places the songs of people giving thanks will be heard.

The sound of great joy will come from there.

I will increase the numbers of my people.

Their numbers will not become smaller.

I will bring them honor.

People will have respect for them.

²⁰Things will be as they used to be for Jacob’s people.

I will make their community firm and secure.

I will punish everyone who treats them badly.

²¹Their leader will be one of their own people.

Their ruler will rise up from among them.

I will bring him near.

And he will come close to me.

He will commit himself to serve me,”

announces the Lord.

²²“So you will be my people.

And I will be your God.”

²³A storm will burst out

because of the Lord’s burning anger.

A strong wind will sweep down

on the heads of evil people.

²⁴The Lord’s burning anger won’t turn back.

He will accomplish everything

his heart plans to do.

In days to come

you will understand that.

31“At that time I will be the God of all of the tribes of Israel,” announces the Lord. “And…