Jeremiah 29–31

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Captives

29Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were ^acarried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²(This happened after ^bJeconiah ¹the king, the ^cqueen mother, the ²eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) ³The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^dShaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. ⁶Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. ⁷And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, ^eand pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. ⁸For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst ^fdeceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. ⁹For they prophesy ^gfalsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord.

¹⁰For thus says the Lord: After ^hseventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to ⁱreturn to this place. ¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will ^jcall upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will ^klisten to you. ¹³And ^lyou will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me ^mwith all your heart. ¹⁴ⁿI will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; ^oI will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

¹⁵Because you have said, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon”—^16ptherefore thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, concerning all the people who dwell in this city, and concerning your brethren who have not gone out with you into captivity—¹⁷thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like ^qrotten figs that cannot be eaten, they are so bad. ¹⁸And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I ^rwill deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be ^sa curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹because they have not heeded My words, says the Lord, which ^tI sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; neither would you heed, says the Lord. ²⁰Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²¹Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a ^ulie to you in My name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. ^22vAnd because of them a curse shall be taken up by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^wwhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire”; ²³because ^xthey have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I ^yknow, and am a witness, says the Lord.

²⁴You shall also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, ²⁵Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, ^zto Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶“The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there should be ^aofficers in the house of the Lord over every man who is ^bdemented and considers himself a prophet, that you should ^cput him in prison and in the stocks. ²⁷Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who makes himself a prophet to you? ²⁸For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘This captivity is long; build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens and eat their fruit.’ ”

²⁹Now Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: ³¹Send to all those in captivity, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, ^dand I have not sent him, and he has caused you to trust in a ^elie—³²therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his ³family: he shall not have anyone to dwell among this people, nor shall he see the good that I will do for My people, says the Lord, ^fbecause he has taught rebellion against the Lord.

Restoration of Israel and Judah

30The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ²“Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. ³For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that ^aI will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ^b‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ ”

⁴Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

⁵“For thus says the Lord:

‘We have heard a voice of trembling,

Of ¹fear, and not of peace.

⁶Ask now, and see,

Whether a ²man is ever in ³labor with child?

So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins

^cLike a woman in labor,

And all faces turned pale?

^7dAlas! For that day is great,

^eSo that none is like it;

And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,

But he shall be saved out of it.

⁸‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’

Says the Lord of hosts,

‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,

And will burst your bonds;

Foreigners shall no more enslave them.

⁹But they shall serve the Lord their God,

And ^fDavid their king,

Whom I will ^graise up for them.

¹⁰‘Therefore ^hdo not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,

‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;

For behold, I will save you from afar,

And your seed ⁱfrom the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,

And no one shall make him afraid.

¹¹For I am with ^jyou,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;

^kThough I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,

^lYet I will not make a complete end of you.

But I will correct you ^min justice,

And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

¹²“For thus says the Lord:

ⁿ‘Your affliction is incurable,

Your wound is severe.

¹³There is no one to plead your cause,

That you may be bound up;

^oYou have no healing medicines.

^14pAll your lovers have forgotten you;

They do not seek you;

For I have wounded you with the wound ^qof an enemy,

With the chastisement ^rof a cruel one,

For the multitude of your iniquities,

^sBecause your sins have increased.

¹⁵Why ^tdo you cry about your affliction?

Your sorrow is incurable.

Because of the multitude of your iniquities,

Because your sins have increased,

I have done these things to you.

¹⁶‘Therefore all those who devour you ^ushall be devoured;

And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into ^vcaptivity;

Those who plunder you shall become ^wplunder,

And all who prey upon you I will make a ^xprey.

^17yFor I will restore health to you

And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,

‘Because they called you an outcast saying:

“This is Zion;

No one seeks her.” ’

¹⁸“Thus says the Lord:

‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,

And ^zhave mercy on his dwelling places;

The city shall be built upon its own ⁴mound,

And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.

¹⁹Then ^aout of them shall proceed thanksgiving

And the voice of those who make merry;

^bI will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;

I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

²⁰Their children also shall be ^cas before,

And their congregation shall be established before Me;

And I will punish all who oppress them.

²¹Their nobles shall be from among them,

^dAnd their governor shall come from their midst;

Then I will ^ecause him to draw near,

And he shall approach Me;

For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.

²²‘You shall be ^fMy people,

And I will be your God.’ ”

²³Behold, the ^gwhirlwind of the Lord—

Goes forth with fury,

A ⁵continuing whirlwind;

It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.

²⁴The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,

And until He has performed the intents of His heart.

^hIn the latter days you will consider it.

The Remnant of Israel Saved

31“At ^athe same time,” says the Lord, ^b“I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

²Thus says the Lord:

“The people who survived the sword

Found grace in the wilderness—

Israel, when ^cI went to give him rest.”

³The Lord has appeared ¹of old to me, saying:

“Yes, ^dI have loved you with ^ean everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness I have ^fdrawn you.

⁴Again ^gI will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,

O virgin of Israel!

You shall again be adorned with your ^htambourines,

And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

⁵ⁱYou shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;

The planters shall plant and ²eat them as ordinary food.

⁶For there shall be a day

When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,

^j‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

To the Lord our God.’ ”

⁷For thus says the Lord:

^k“Sing with gladness for Jacob,

And shout among the chief of the nations;

Proclaim, give praise, and say,…