THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 29 ©
Jeremiah sends letters to Babel unto the Jews, who were carried thither captive with Jeconiah, and exhorts them to be peaceable and quiet there, to pray for the peace of Babel, not to believe their false prophets and dreamers, nor to expect deliverance before the seventy years be expired, v. 1, etc. He likewise prophecies how ill it will be with them who remain in Judah, 16. With a special severe prophecy against two false prophets in Babel, Ahab and Zedekiah, 20. Also against Shemaiah, who had written from Babel to Jerusalem, that they should punish Jeremiah for his letters, 24.
NOW these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto 1the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
(After that Jeconiaha the king, and the queen, and the 2eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the 3carpenters, and the smiths, were 4departed from Jerusalem;)
5By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) 6saying,
Thus saith the LORD of 7hosts, the God of Israel, unto all 8that are carried away captives, whom 9I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
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.
And seek the 10peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the 11peace thereof shall ye have peace.
¶For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, 12deceiveb you, neither hearken to your 13dreams which ye 14cause to be dreamed.
For they prophesy 15falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
¶For thus saith the LORD, That 16after seventy years be accomplished 17at Babylon I will 18visit you, and 19perform my 20good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of 21peace, and not of evil, to give you an 22expected 23end.
Then shall ye callc upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
And I will be 24found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gatherd you from all the nations, and from all the places whither 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.
¶Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets 25in Babylon;
Know that thus saith the LORD 26of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this 27city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them thee sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like 28vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will 29deliverf them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an 30astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:
Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up 31early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
¶Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all 32ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy 33a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall 34slay them before your eyes;
And of 35them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like 36Ahab, whom the king of Babylon 37roasted in the fire;
Because they have committed 38villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken 39lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
¶Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the 40Nehelamite, saying,
Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in 41thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah 42the priest, and to all the priests, 43saying,
The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of 44Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be 45officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is 46mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in 47prison,g and in the 48stocks.
Now therefore why hast thou not 49reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?
For 50therefore he 51sent unto us in Babylon, saying, 52This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
¶ 53Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,
Send to all them of the 54captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the 55Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust inh a lie:
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will 56punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he 57behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught 58rebellioni against the LORD.