Jeremiah 29

29 ¹These are the words of the letter Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar had exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²After King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and metalworkers left Jerusalem. ³He sent it by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It read:

⁴This is what the Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel, says to all the exiles I sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵"Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. ⁶Marry; have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so they bear sons and daughters. Increase there, don't dwindle. ⁷Seek the welfare of the city where I exiled you, and pray to me for it, for in its welfare you find yours." ⁸This is what the Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel, says: Don't let your prophets and fortune-tellers among you deceive you; don't listen to the dreams they keep dreaming. ⁹They are prophesying lies to you in my name; I did not send them, declares your Father. ¹⁰For your Father says: When Babylon's seventy years are completed, I will come to you and fulfill for you my good promise to bring you back here. ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you, declares your Father—plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future and hope. ¹²"Then you will call on me, come, and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³You will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart. ¹⁴You will find me, declares your Father. I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places I drove you, declares your Father, and bring you back where I exiled you from."

¹⁵Because you have said, "Our Father has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,"

¹⁶this is what your Father says about the king on David's throne, and about all the people in this city—your brothers who didn't go into exile with you,

¹⁷this is what the Father of heaven's armies says: I am sending sword, famine, and plague against them, making them like rotten figs, too spoiled to eat. ¹⁸I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague, making them a horror to every kingdom of earth—a curse, desolation, scorn, and disgrace among all nations where I drove them, ¹⁹because they did not listen to my words, declares your Father—sent again and again through my servants the prophets—but you would not listen, declares your Father.

²⁰So you exiles, hear your Father's word—all I sent from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹This is what the Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who prophesy lies to you in my name: I will hand them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will strike them down before your eyes. ²²From them all Judah's exiles in Babylon will take this curse: "May our Father make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom Babylon's king roasted in the fire," ²³because they did disgraceful things in Israel: committing adultery with their neighbors' wives and speaking lies in my name, which I did not command them. I know, and I am witness, declares your Father.

The Father Rebukes Shemaiah

²⁴Say this to Shemaiah the Nehelamite:

²⁵This is what the Father of heaven's armies, our Father of Israel, says: In your name you sent letters to all the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests:

²⁶"The LORD made you priest in place of Jehoiada the priest, officer in the house of the LORD over every madman who plays prophet, to put him in stocks and neck-iron." ²⁷So why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet to you? ²⁸He sent to us in Babylon: "It will be long. Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit."

²⁹Zephaniah the priest read this letter aloud to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of our Father came to Jeremiah:

³¹Send to all the exiles: Your Father says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, and I did not send him, and made you trust a lie, ³²so your Father says: I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. No one of his will live among this people, nor see the good I will do for my people, declares your Father, for he preached rebellion against me.