Jeremiah 29

ENGWEBEnglish32 verses

1Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,

2(after that Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths, had departed from Jerusalem),

3by 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), saying,

4Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit.

6Take wives, and father sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and don’t be diminished.

7Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you shall have peace.

8For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: Don’t let your prophets who are among you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.

9For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: I have not sent them, says Yahweh.

10For Yahweh says, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.

12You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

13You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.

14I will be found by you, says Yahweh, and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says Yahweh; and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.

15Because you have said, Yahweh has raised us up prophets in Babylon;

16Yahweh says concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who haven’t gone with you into captivity;

17Yahweh of Armies says: Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that can’t be eaten, they are so bad.

18I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them;

19because they have not listened to my words, says Yahweh, with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear, says Yahweh.

20Hear therefore Yahweh’s word, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes;

22and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

23because they have worked folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn’t command them; and I am he who knows, and am witness, says Yahweh.

24Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,

25Thus speaks Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, saying, Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

26Yahweh has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in Yahweh’s house, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles.

27Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you,

28because he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long: build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit?

29Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

30Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,

31Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Yahweh says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I didn’t send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie;

32therefore Yahweh says, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his offspring; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he see the good that I will do to my people, says Yahweh, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh.

Commentary

"\nNow these [are] the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem,.... The argument and tenor, the sum and substance, of an epistle, which the prophet Jeremiah, being at Jerusalem, wrote, under the inspiration of God, to his countrymen abroad, afterwards described; so the prophets under the Old Testament instructed the people, sometimes by their sermons and discourses delivered by word of mouth to them, and sometimes by letters and epistles; as did the apostles of the New Testament; and they were both ways useful and profitable to men:\n\nunto the residue of the elders which were carried away captive; some perhaps dying by the way, and others quickly after they came to Babylon; some were left, who had been rulers or civil magistrates in Judea, and perhaps of the great sanhedrim:\n\nand to the priests, and to the prophets: false prophets, as the Syriac version; for we read only of one true prophet that was carried captive, and that was Ezekiel; but of false prophets several:\n\nand to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; which was eleven or twelve years before their last captivity thither. This was a catholic epistle, common to all the captives of every rank and class, age or sex.\n\n\n\n "

CHAPTER 29Jer 29:1-32. Letter of Jeremiah to the Captives in Babylon, to Counteract the Assurances Given by the False Prophets of a Speedy Restoration.1. residue of the elders—those still surviving from the time when they were carried to Babylon with Jeconiah; the other elders of the captives had died by either a natural or a violent death.

29:1-7 The written word of God is as truly given by inspiration of God as his spoken word. The zealous servant of the Lord will use every means to profit those who are far off, as well as those who are near him. The art of writing is very profitable for this end; and by the art of printing it is rendered most beneficial for circulating the knowledge of the word of God. God's sending to the captives by this letter would show that he had not forsaken them, though he was displeased, and corrected them. If they live in the fear of God, they may live comfortably in Babylon. In all conditions of life, it is our wisdom and duty not to throw away the comfort of what we may have, because we have not all we would have. They are directed to seek the good of the country where they were captives. While the king of Babylon protected them, they must live quiet and peaceable lives under him, in all godliness and honesty; patiently leaving it to God to work deliverance for them in due time.

2. queen—Nehushta, the queen mother, daughter of Elnathan (2Ki 24:8, 15). (Elnathan, her father, is perhaps the same as the one mentioned in Jer 26:22). She reigned jointly with her son.princes—All the men of authority were taken away lest they should organize a rebellion. Jeremiah wrote his letter while the calamity was still recent, to console the captives under it.

"\nAfter that Jeconiah the king,.... Of Judah; the same with Jehoiachin, who was carried captive into Babylon when he had reigned but three months:\n\nand the queen; not Jeconiah's wife, for he had none; but his mother, whose name was Nehushta, and who was carried captive with him,\n 2Ki 24:8;\n\nand the eunuchs; or "chamberlains" to the queen; the Targum calls them princes; these were of the king's household, his courtiers; and such persons have been everywhere, and in all ages, court favourites:\n\nand the princes of Judah and Jerusalem; the noblemen and grandees of the nation:\n\nand the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem; whom Nebuchadnezzar took with him, partly for his own use in his own country; and partly that the Jews might be deprived of such artificers, that could assist in fortifying their city, and providing them with military weapons; [See comments on Jer 24:1].\n\n\n "

3. Zedekiah … sent unto Babylon—In Jer 51:59, Zedekiah himself goes to Babylon; here he sends ambassadors. Whatever was the object of the embassy, it shows that Zedekiah only reigned at the pleasure of the king of Babylon, who might have restored Jeconiah, had he pleased. Hence, Zedekiah permitted Jeremiah's letter to be sent, not only as being led by Hananiah's death to attach greater credit to the prophet's words, but also as the letter accorded with his own wish that the Jews should remain in Chaldea till Jeconiah's death.Hilkiah—the high priest who found the book of the law in the house of the Lord, and showed it to "Shaphan" the scribe (the same Shaphan probably as here), who showed it to King Josiah (2Ki 22:8, &c.). The sons of Hilkiah and Shaphan inherited from their fathers some respect for sacred things. So in Jer 36:25, "Gemariah" interceded with King Jehoiakim that the prophet's roll should not be burned.

"\nBy the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan,....

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Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG ነቢዩ ኤርምያስ ወደ ተረፉት የምርኮ ሽማግሌዎች፥ ወደ ካህናቱም፥ ወደ ነቢያቱም፥ ናቡከደነፆር ከኢየሩሳሌም ወደ ባቢሎን ማርኮ ወዳፈለሰውም ሕዝብ ሁሉ ከኢየሩሳሌም የላከው የደብዳቤው ቃል ይህ… አማርኛ ENGNIV This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles a… English BCV ነቢይ ኤርሚያስ ነቶም ብህይወት ዝነብሩ ሽማግለታትን፥ ነቶም ካህናትን ነቢያትን፥ ንዅሎም ነቶም ናቡከደነፆር ካብ ኢየሩሳሌም ማሪኹ ናብ ባቢሎን ዝወሰዶም ህዝቢ፥ ዝለኣኸሎም ቃል መልእኽቲ እዙ… ትግርኛ GAZBIB Ani Ermiyaas raajichi jaarsolii warra hafanitti luboota, raajota, guutummaa namoota warra Nebukadnezaar Yerusaalemii bo… Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ወከመዝ ውእቱ ነገረ መጽሐፍ ዘፈነወ ኤርምያስ ነቢይ እምኢየሩሳሌም ኀበ እለ ተርፉ ረበናት እለ አፍለስዎሙ፤ ወኀበ ካህናት ወኅበ ሐሳውያነ ነቢያት ወኀበ ኵሉ ሕዝብ ዘአፍለሰ ናቡከደነፆር ንጉ… giz GAZGAZ Ani Ermiyaas raajichi jaarsolii warra hafanitti luboota, raajota, guutummaa namoota warra Nebukadnezaar Yerusaalemii bo… Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum ነቢይ ኤርሚያስ ነቶም ብህይወት ዝነብሩ ሽማግለታትን፥ ነቶም ካህናትን ነቢያትን፥ ንዅሎም ነቶም ናቡከደነፆር ካብ ኢየሩሳሌም ማሪኹ ናብ ባቢሎን ዝወሰዶም ህዝቢ፥ ዝለኣኸሎም ቃል መልእኽቲ እዙ… ትግርኛ AMHNIV ነቢዩ ኤርምያስ በምርኮ ተወስደው በሕይወት ለቀሩት ሽማግሌዎች፣ ለካህናቱ፣ ለነቢያቱና ናቡከደነፆር ከኢየሩሳሌም ወደ ባቢሎን ማርኮ ለወሰዳቸው ሕዝብ ሁሉ የላከው የደብዳቤ ቃል ይህ ነው፤ አማርኛ