Jeremiah 29

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 Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem. Jeremiah was a prophet, someone who told people what God said. He wrote to the older leaders who were still alive far from home. He also wrote to the priests, the prophets, and all the other people. King Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from Jerusalem to Babylon.

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;)

2This was after King Jeconiah was taken away from Jerusalem. The king's mother was taken too. So were the palace helpers and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. The workers who built with wood and metal were taken as well.

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,

3Jeremiah gave the letter to two men to carry. They were Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah. King Zedekiah of Judah was sending them to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The letter said this:

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 says, the God of Israel who leads heaven's armies. He speaks to all the people He let be carried 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. Let your daughters marry, so they can have children too. Grow into a bigger group there. Do not get smaller.

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 sent you. Pray to the LORD for that city. If things go well there, things will go well for you 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.

8The LORD who leads heaven's armies, the God of Israel, says this. Do not let your prophets or fortune tellers 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 tell you lies and say the words came 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.

10The LORD says this. Babylon's seventy years will come to an end. Then I will come and help you. I will keep my good 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 good and not for harm. They will give you a future and a hope.

NoteThe old words "an expected end" mean the future God has ready for them. It means hope, not the end of their lives.

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. This happens when you look 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 the land where you are held. I will gather you from every nation and place where I sent you. I will bring you home to the place I took you from.

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;

16So hear what the LORD says about the king who sits on David's throne. He also speaks about the people still living in Jerusalem. They are your brothers who did not go away 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.

17The LORD who leads heaven's armies says this. I will send war, hunger, and sickness against them. I will make them like rotten figs, too spoiled to eat.

NoteThe old words say the figs are "so evil." Here "evil" means spoiled and rotten, like fruit gone bad.

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 sickness. Every kingdom on earth will be shocked at them. In the lands where I send them, people will point and laugh. Their name will be used when someone says 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 you did not listen either, 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 of you far from home. I sent you 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;

21The LORD who leads heaven's armies, the God of Israel, speaks about two men. They are Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah. They tell you lies and say the words came from me. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. 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, the people of Judah in Babylon will say a curse. They will say, "May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab. The king of Babylon burned them in the fire."

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 other men's wives. They told lies and said the words came from me. I never told them to say those things. 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 a message to Shemaiah. Shemaiah came from a place called Nehelam.

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,

25The LORD who leads heaven's armies, the God of Israel, says this. You sent letters in your own name to the people in Jerusalem. You sent them to Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You wrote:

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 made you a priest in place of Jehoiada. You are in charge at the LORD's house. Any wild man who acts like a prophet is your job. You must lock him up in chains and stocks."

NoteStocks were a heavy wooden frame. It held a prisoner's hands, feet, or neck so he could not move.

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

27"So why have you not scolded Jeremiah from Anathoth? He is acting 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.

28"He even sent a letter to us here in Babylon. He said we will be away a long time. He told us to build houses and live in them. He told us to plant gardens and eat their food."

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 LORD gave Jeremiah a message. He said:

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 word to all the people far from home. The LORD says this about Shemaiah from Nehelam. Shemaiah spoke to you as a prophet, but I did not send 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 the LORD says this. I will punish Shemaiah and his children after him. He will have no family left among these people. He will not see the good I will do for my people, says the LORD. He told people to turn against the LORD.