29 *Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of athe elders which were carried away captives, and bto the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; 2 (After that cdJeconiah the king, and cethe queen, and cthe ||eunuchs, dthe princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and dthe carpenters, and dthe smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) 3 By the hand of Elasah the son of fShaphan, and Gemariah the son of gHilkiah, h(whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5 iBuild ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; 6 Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and kpray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. 8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and lyour diviners, that be in the midst of you, mdeceive you, neither hearken to lyour dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 n*For they prophesy †falsely unto you in my name: nI have not sent them, saith the Lord. 10 For thus saith the Lord, That oafter seventy years be accomplished at Babylon pI will visit you, and qperform my good word toward you, pqin causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, rto give you an †expected end. 12 Then sshall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And stvye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me uwith all your heart. 14 And vI will be found of you, saith the Lord: and wI will turn away your captivity, and xI will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places ywhither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

15 Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16 Know that thus saith the Lord of the king zthat sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, aI will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them blike vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and cwill deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, †to be dea curse, and dfgan astonishment, and gan hissing, and da reproach, hamong all the nations iwhither I have driven them: 19 Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, krising up early and sending them; lbut ye would not hear, saith the Lord. 20 Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity, mwhom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, nwhich prophesy a lie unto 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; 22 And oof them shall be taken up pa curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, qwhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 Because they have rcommitted villany in Israel, and shave committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and nshave spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and tam a witness, saith the Lord.

24 *Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the ||Nehelamite, saying, 25 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to uZephaniah the son of uuMaaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 The Lord hath made thee priest in the stead of vJehoiada the priest, that ye should be wofficers in the house of the Lord, for every man xthat is mad, and ymaketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in zthe stocks. 27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved aJeremiah of Anathoth, ywhich maketh himself a prophet to you? 28 For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: bbuild ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and cdI sent him not, and che caused you to trust in a lie: 32 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither eshall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the Lord; fbecause he hath taught †rebellion against the Lord.