Jeremiah 29–31

Chapter 29

¹These are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the elders^y of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the eunuchs, 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 Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, 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: ⁵Build 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 pray 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: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream,^{z 9}for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.

¹⁰“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ¹²Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says 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 the 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 sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, ¹⁹because they did not heed my words, says the Lord, which I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, says the Lord.’— ²⁰Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom 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 Ma-aseiah, who are prophesying a lie to 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. ²²Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” ²³because they have committed folly in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words which I did not command them. I am the one who knows, and I am witness, says the Lord.’ ”

²⁴To Shemaiah 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 Zephaniah the son of Ma-aseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, ²⁶‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have charge in the house of the Lord over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and collar. ²⁷Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? ²⁸For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.” ’ ”

²⁹Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹“Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, ³²therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants; he shall not have any one living among this people to see^a the good that I will do to my people, says the Lord, for he has talked rebellion against the Lord.’ ”

Chapter 30

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. ³For behold, days are coming, says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

⁴These are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel 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?

Why then do I see every man

with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor?

Why has every face turned pale?

⁷Alas! that day is so great

there 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, says the Lord of hosts, that I will break the yoke from off their^b neck, and I will burst their^b bonds, and strangers shall no more make servants of them.^{c 9}But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

¹⁰“Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the Lord,

nor be dismayed, O Israel;

for lo, I will save you from afar,

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

¹¹For I am with you to save you,

says the Lord;

I will make a full end of all the nations

among whom I scattered you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

I will chasten you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished.

¹²“For thus says the Lord:

Your hurt is incurable,

and your wound is grievous.

¹³There is none to uphold your cause,

no medicine for your wound,

no healing for you.

¹⁴All your lovers have forgotten you;

they care nothing for you;

for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,

the punishment of a merciless foe,

because your guilt is great,

because your sins are flagrant.

¹⁵Why do you cry out over your hurt?

Your pain is incurable.

Because your guilt is great,

because your sins are flagrant,

I have done these things to you.

¹⁶Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,

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

those who despoil you shall become a spoil,

and all who prey on you I will make a prey.

¹⁷For I will restore health to you,

and your wounds I will heal,

says the Lord,

because they have called you an outcast:

‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’

¹⁸“Thus says the Lord:

Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob,

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound,

and the palace shall stand where it used to be.

¹⁹Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,

and the voices of those who make merry.

I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;

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

²⁰Their children shall be as they were of old,

and their congregation shall be established before me;

and I will punish all who oppress them.

²¹Their prince shall be one of themselves,

their ruler shall come forth from their midst;

I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,

for who would dare of himself to approach me?

says the Lord.

²²And you shall be my people,

and I will be your God.”

²³Behold the storm of the Lord!

Wrath has gone forth,

a whirling tempest;

it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

²⁴The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back

until he has executed and accomplished

the intents of his mind.

In the latter days you will understand this.

Chapter 31

¹“At that time, says the Lord, 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;

when Israel sought for rest,

³the Lord appeared to him^d from afar.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

⁴Again I will build you, and you shall be built,

O virgin Israel!

Again you shall adorn yourself with timbrels,

and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.

⁵Again you shall plant vineyards

upon the mountains of Samaria;

the planters shall plant,

and shall enjoy the fruit.

⁶For there shall be a day when watchmen will call

in the hill country of Ephraim:

‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.’ ”

⁷For thus says the Lord:

“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;

proclaim, give praise, and say,

‘The Lord has saved his people,

the remnant of Israel.’

⁸Behold, I will bring them from the north country,

and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

among them the blind and the lame,

the woman with child and her who is in travail, together;

a great company, they shall return here.

⁹With weeping they shall come,

and with consolations I will lead them back,

I will make them walk by brooks of water,

in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;

for I am a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is my first-born.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,

and declare it in the…