|
Chapter 29 |
| 1 | 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; |
| 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;) |
| 3 | By 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, |
| 4 |
Thus 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; |
|
5 | Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant
gardens, and eat the fruit of them; |
| 6 | 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. |
|
7 | And 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. |
| 8 | 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, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which
ye cause to be dreamed. |
| 9 | For they prophesy falsely unto you in my
name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. |
|
10 | For 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.
|
| 11 | For 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. |
| 12 |
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will
hearken unto you. |
| 13 | And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye
shall search for me with all your heart. |
|
14 | And 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. |
| 15 | Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised
us up prophets in Babylon; |
|
16 | Know 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; |
| 17
| Thus 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. |
| 18 | And 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: |
| 19 | Because 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. |
| 20
| Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the
captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: |
| 21 | 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 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; |
| 22 | And 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; |
| 23 |
Because 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. |
| 24
| Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite,
saying, |
| 25
| Thus 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, |
|
26 | The 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. |
| 27 | Now therefore why hast thou
not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?
|
| 28 | For 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. |
| 29
| And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of
Jeremiah the prophet. |
| 30 | Then came the word of the LORD unto
Jeremiah, saying, |
| 31 | Send 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: |
| 32 |
Therefore 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. |
