Jeremiah 29

New International Version

A Letter to the Exiles

29 This is the text of the letter^(A) that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.^(B) ²(This was after King Jehoiachin^[a]^(C) and the queen mother,^(D) the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) ³He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried^(E) into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵“Build^(F) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.^(G) ⁷Also, seek^(H) the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray^(I) to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ⁸Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets^(J) and diviners among you deceive^(K) you. Do not listen to the dreams^(L) you encourage them to have.^(M) ⁹They are prophesying lies^(N) to you in my name. I have not sent^(O) them,” declares the Lord.

¹⁰This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years^(P) are completed for Babylon, I will come to you^(Q) and fulfill my good promise^(R) to bring you back^(S) to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans^(T) I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper^(U) you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.^(V) ¹²Then you will call^(W) on me and come and pray^(X) to me, and I will listen^(Y) to you. ¹³You will seek^(Z) me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.^(AA) ¹⁴I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back^(AB) from captivity.^[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”^(AC)

¹⁵You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” ¹⁶but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile— ¹⁷yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague^(AD) against them and I will make them like figs^(AE) that are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent^(AF) to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse^[c]^(AG) and an object of horror,^(AH) of scorn^(AI) and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. ¹⁹For they have not listened to my words,”^(AJ) declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again^(AK) by my servants the prophets.^(AL) And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

²⁰Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent^(AM) away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies^(AN) to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. ²²Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned^(AO) in the fire.’ ²³For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery^(AP) with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know^(AQ) it and am a witness^(AR) to it,” declares the Lord.

Message to Shemaiah

²⁴Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, ²⁵“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah^(AS) son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, ²⁶‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac^(AT) who acts like a prophet into the stocks^(AU) and neck-irons. ²⁷So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? ²⁸He has sent this message^(AV) to us in Babylon: It will be a long time.^(AW) Therefore build^(AX) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”

²⁹Zephaniah^(AY) the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹“Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah^(AZ) the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send^(BA) him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, ³²this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants.^(BB) He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good^(BC) things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion^(BD) against me.’”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 29:14 Or will restore your fortunes
Jeremiah 29:18 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see verse 22); or, others will see that they are cursed.

Jeremiah 11-13

New International Version

The Covenant Is Broken

11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Listen to the terms of this covenant^(A) and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. ³Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed^(B) is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— ⁴the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt,^(C) out of the iron-smelting furnace.^(D)’ I said, ‘Obey^(E) me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people,^(F) and I will be your God. ⁵Then I will fulfill the oath I swore^(G) to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’^(H)—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen,^(I) Lord.”

⁶The Lord said to me, “Proclaim^(J) all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow^(K) them. ⁷From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again,^(L) saying, “Obey me.” ⁸But they did not listen or pay attention;^(M) instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.^(N) So I brought on them all the curses^(O) of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.^(P)’”

⁹Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy^(Q) among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. ¹⁰They have returned to the sins of their ancestors,^(R) who refused to listen to my words.^(S) They have followed other gods^(T) to serve them.^(U) Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant^(V) I made with their ancestors. ¹¹Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster^(W) they cannot escape.^(X) Although they cry^(Y) out to me, I will not listen^(Z) to them. ¹²The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense,^(AA) but they will not help them at all when disaster^(AB) strikes. ¹³You, Judah, have as many gods^(AC) as you have towns;^(AD) and the altars you have set up to burn incense^(AE) to that shameful^(AF) god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

¹⁴“Do not pray^(AG) for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen^(AH) when they call to me in the time of their distress.

¹⁵“What is my beloved doing in my temple
    as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?
    Can consecrated meat^(AI) avert your punishment?^(AJ)
When you engage in your wickedness,
    then you rejoice.^[a]”

¹⁶The Lord called you a thriving olive tree^(AK)
    with fruit beautiful in form.
But with the roar of a mighty storm
    he will set it on fire,^(AL)
    and its branches will be broken.^(AM)

¹⁷The Lord Almighty, who planted^(AN) you, has decreed disaster^(AO) for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused^(AP) my anger by burning incense to Baal.^(AQ)

Plot Against Jeremiah

¹⁸Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. ¹⁹I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;^(AR) I did not realize that they had plotted^(AS) against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
    let us cut him off from the land of the living,^(AT)
    that his name be remembered^(AU) no more.”
²⁰But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously^(AV)
    and test the heart^(AW) and mind,^(AX)
let me see your vengeance^(AY) on them,
    for to you I have committed my cause.

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth^(AZ) who are threatening to kill you,^(BA) saying, “Do not prophesy^(BB) in the name of the Lord or you will die^(BC) by our hands”— ²²therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men^(BD) will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. ²³Not even a remnant^(BE) will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.^(BF)”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,^(BG) Lord,
    when I bring a case^(BH) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:^(BI)
    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?^(BJ)
    Why do all the faithless live at ease?
²You have planted^(BK) them, and they have taken root;
    they grow and bear fruit.^(BL)
You are always on their lips
    but far from their hearts.^(BM)
³Yet you know me, Lord;
    you see me and test^(BN) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep^(BO) to be butchered!
    Set them apart for the day of slaughter!^(BP)
⁴How long will the land lie parched^(BQ)
    and the grass in every field be withered?^(BR)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
    the animals and birds have perished.^(BS)
Moreover, the people are saying,
    “He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

⁵“If you have raced with men on foot
    and they have worn you out,
    how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble^[b] in safe country,
    how will you manage in the thickets^(BT) by^[c] the Jordan?
⁶Your relatives, members of your own family—
    even they have betrayed you;
    they have raised a loud cry against you.^(BU)
Do not trust them,
    though they speak well of you.^(BV)

⁷“I will forsake^(BW) my house,
    abandon^(BX) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love^(BY)
    into the hands of her enemies.^(BZ)
⁸My inheritance has become to me
    like a lion^(CA) in the forest.
She roars at me;
    therefore I hate her.^(CB)
⁹Has not my inheritance become to me
    like a speckled bird of prey
    that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
    bring them to devour.^(CC)
¹⁰Many shepherds^(CD) will ruin my vineyard
    and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
    into a desolate wasteland.^(CE)
¹¹It will be made a wasteland,^(CF)
    parched and desolate before me;^(CG)
the whole land will be laid waste
    because there is no one who cares.
¹²Over all the barren heights in the desert
    destroyers will swarm,
for the sword^(CH) of the Lord^(CI) will devour^(CJ)
    from one end of the land to the other;^(CK)
    no one will be safe.^(CL)
¹³They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
    they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.^(CM)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
    because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”^(CN)

¹⁴This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance^(CO) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot^(CP) them from their lands and I will uproot^(CQ) the people of Judah from among them. ¹⁵But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion^(CR) and will bring^(CS) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. ¹⁶And if they learn^(CT) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’^(CU)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal^(CV)—then they will be established among my people.^(CW) ¹⁷But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy^(CX) it,” declares the Lord.

A Linen Belt

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” ²So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

³Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:^(CY) ⁴“Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath^[d]^(CZ) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” ⁵So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.^(DA)

⁶Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” ⁷So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹“This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride^(DB) of Jerusalem. ¹⁰These wicked people, who refuse to listen^(DC) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts^(DD) and go after other gods^(DE) to serve and worship them,^(DF) will be like this belt—completely useless!^(DG) ¹¹For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown^(DH) and praise and honor.^(DI) But they have not listened.’^(DJ)

Wineskins

¹²“Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ ¹³then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness^(DK) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. ¹⁴I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity^(DL) or mercy or compassion^(DM) to keep me from destroying^(DN) them.’”

Threat of Captivity

¹⁵Hear and pay attention,
    do not be arrogant,
    for the Lord has spoken.^(DO)
¹⁶Give glory^(DP) to the Lord your God
    before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble^(DQ)
    on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
    but he will turn it to utter darkness
    and change it to deep gloom.^(DR)
¹⁷If you do not listen,^(DS)
    I will weep in secret
    because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
    overflowing with tears,^(DT)
    because the Lord’s flock^(DU) will be taken captive.^(DV)

¹⁸Say to the king^(DW) and to the queen mother,^(DX)
    “Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns^(DY)
    will fall from your heads.”
¹⁹The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
    and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah^(DZ) will be carried into exile,
    carried completely away.

²⁰Look up and see
    those who are coming from the north.^(EA)
Where is the flock^(EB) that was entrusted to you,
    the sheep of which you boasted?
²¹What will you say when the Lord sets over you
    those you cultivated as your special allies?^(EC)
Will not pain grip you
    like that of a woman in labor?^(ED)
²²And if you ask yourself,
    “Why has this happened to me?”^(EE)—
it is because of your many sins^(EF)
    that your skirts have been torn off^(EG)
    and your body mistreated.^(EH)
²³Can an Ethiopian^[e] change his skin
    or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
    who are accustomed to doing evil.^(EI)

²⁴“I will scatter you like chaff^(EJ)
    driven by the desert wind.^(EK)
²⁵This is your lot,
    the portion^(EL) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten^(EM) me
    and trusted in false gods.^(EN)
²⁶I will pull up your skirts over your face
    that your shame may be seen^(EO)—
²⁷your adulteries and lustful neighings,
    your shameless prostitution!^(EP)
I have seen your detestable acts
    on the hills and in the fields.^(EQ)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    How long will you be unclean?”^(ER)

Footnotes

Jeremiah 11:15 Or Could consecrated meat avert your punishment? / Then you would rejoice
Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)