Jeremiah

Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the 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;

1This is the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem. He wrote to the leaders still living among the prisoners, and to the priests, the prophets, and everyone else King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Note"The residue of the elders" in the older wording means the elders who were still alive after the capture, not leftover people of low rank.

2(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

2He wrote this after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the palace officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, and the skilled workers and metalworkers had been taken away from Jerusalem.

3By 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) saying,

3The letter was carried by Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah. Zedekiah king of Judah was sending them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter said:

4Thus 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;

4This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the people He allowed to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

5Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat the food they grow.

6Take 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.

6Get married and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and husbands for your daughters, so they can have children too. Grow in number there. Do not shrink.

7And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

7Work for the good of the city where I have sent you. Pray to the LORD for it. If that city does well, you will do well too.

8For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

8This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Do not let the prophets and fortune-tellers among you fool you. Do not listen to the dreams you ask them to have.

9For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

9They are telling you lies and saying the words come from Me. I did not send them, says the LORD.

10For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

10This is what the LORD says: When Babylon's seventy years are finished, I will come to you. I will keep My promise and bring you back to this place.

11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

11I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. They are plans for your good, not for harm. They will give you a future and a hope.

12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

12Then you will call to Me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

13You will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with your whole heart.

14And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather 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.

14You will find Me, says the LORD. I will bring you back from being prisoners. I will gather you from every nation and place where I scattered you, and bring you home again.

15Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;

15You may say, "The LORD has given us prophets here in Babylon."

16Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that 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;

16But here is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David's throne, and about all the people still living in this city, your relatives who did not go into exile with you.

17Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

17This is what the LORD of Armies says: I will send war, hunger, and disease against them. I will make them like rotten figs, so bad that no one can eat them.

18And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:

18I will chase them with war, hunger, and disease. Every kingdom on earth will be horrified by them. People in every land where I scatter them will mock them and use their name as a curse.

19Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.

19This is because they did not listen to My words, says the LORD. I sent My servants the prophets to them again and again, and they would not listen. And neither did you, says the LORD.

20Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:

20So listen to the word of the LORD, all you people I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which 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;

21This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah. They tell you lies and say the words come from Me. I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them while you watch.

22And of them 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 Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

22Because of them, all the prisoners from Judah who live in Babylon will use this curse: "May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire."

NoteThe KJV says "roasted in the fire." It means these two men were put to death by burning, not cooked as food.

23Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.

23They did a shameful thing in Israel. They slept with their neighbors' wives and told lies in My name, lies I never told them to speak. I know it, and I saw it, says the LORD.

24Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,

24The LORD also told Jeremiah to send this message to Shemaiah the Nehelamite:

25Thus 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 Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

25This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You wrote to Zephaniah:

26The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.

26"The LORD has made you priest in place of Jehoiada. You are the officer in charge of the LORD's house. Any crazy man who acts like a prophet, you must lock up in the stocks.

NoteStocks were a wooden frame that locked around a prisoner's hands, feet, or neck to hold him in place in public.

27Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?

27So why have you not stopped Jeremiah of Anathoth, who acts like a prophet among you?

28For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

28He sent us a letter here in Babylon saying our stay will be long. He told us to build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat what they grow."

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

29Zephaniah the priest read this letter out loud to Jeremiah the prophet.

30Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

30Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

31Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:

31Send this message to all the people living as prisoners. This is what the LORD says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah spoke to you as a prophet, but I never sent him. He made you trust a lie.

32Therefore 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 shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.

32So this is what the LORD says: I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his children. No one from his family will be left among this people. He will not see the good I am going to do for My people, says the LORD, because he told people to turn against the LORD.