Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
1 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to Ezek. 8:1the surviving elders of the exiles, and to [ch. 23:33]the priests, [ch. 23:33]the prophets, and [ch. 23:33]all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after ch. 24:1;2 Kgs. 24:12,14King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of 2 Chr. 34:8Shaphan and Gemariah the son of 1 Chr. 6:13Hilkiah, 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: 5 ver. 28Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take 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. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and [Ezra 6:10;1 Tim. 2:1,2]pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: [ch. 5:31;6:14] Do not let your prophets and ch. 27:9,15your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,29:8 Hebrew your dreams, which you cause to dream9 for See ch. 5:31it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ver. 31I did not send them, declares the Lord.
10 "For thus says the Lord: See ch. 25:12When seventy years are completed for Babylon, ch. 27:22I will visit you, ch. 33:14;[ch. 24:6]and I will fulfill to you my promise ch. 33:14;[ch. 24:6]and bring you back to this place. 11 [Isa. 55:8,9] For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare29:11 Or peace and not for evil, ch. 31:17to give you a future and a hope. 12 ch. 33:3;Dan. 9:3Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ch. 33:3;Dan. 9:3and I will hear you. 13 2 Chr. 15:2;Ps. 32:6;78:34;Prov. 8:17;Isa. 55:6;Hos. 3:5;See Lev. 26:39-42;Deut. 30:1-3You will seek me and find me, when you seek me ch. 24:7;Deut. 4:29with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ch. 30:3and I will restore your fortunes and See ch. 23:3gather you from all the nations and all the places See ch. 8:3where I have driven you, declares 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,’ 16 thus says the Lord concerning See ch. 22:2the 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 See ch. 24:10sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ch. 24:8vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with [See ver. 17above] sword, famine, and pestilence, See ch. 15:4and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ch. 18:16;42:18;See ch. 24:9to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations [See ver. 14above]where I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, See ch. 25:4that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ 20 Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ch. 24:5whom 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 Maaseiah, ver. 9;See ch. 14:14who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22 See Isa. 65:15Because of them See ch. 24:9this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: "The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, [Dan. 3:6]whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire," 23 because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ch. 23:14they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and ch. 23:14they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. Mal. 3:5I am the one who knows, Mal. 3:5and I am witness, declares the Lord.’"
Shemaiah’s False Prophecy
24 To ver. 31, 32Shemaiah 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 ch. 21:1;2 Kgs. 25:18Zephaniah the son of ch. 35:4Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have [ch. 20:1] charge in the house of the Lord[2 Kgs. 9:11;Acts 26:24] over every madman who prophesies, to put him in ch. 20:2the stocks and neck irons. 27 Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ch. 1:1;32:7of Anathoth who is prophesying to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, "Your exile will be long; ver. 5build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce."’"
29 [See ver. 25above]Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 ver. 1, 20Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 "Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ver. 24Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because ver. 24Shemaiah had prophesied to you ver. 9;See ch. 5:31when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, 32 therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish [See ver. 31above] Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, See ch. 17:6and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ch. 28:16for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’"