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The Prophets · Old Testament

Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah 29: the letter to the captives in Babylon

General context

The chapter gives the letter Jeremiah sends from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets and people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried to Babylon, after Jeconiah, the queen and the princes had departed. It goes by Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, Zedekiah's envoys to Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord tells the captives to build houses, plant gardens, marry, have children and seek and pray for the peace of the city where they are. They are not to be deceived by their prophets and diviners, whom the Lord has not sent. After seventy years the Lord will visit them and bring them back; his thoughts toward them are of peace; they will call, pray, seek and find him, and he will gather them from all nations. Because they say the Lord has raised prophets in Babylon, the letter turns to the king on David's throne and the people still in Jerusalem: sword, famine and pestilence will make them like vile figs, a curse among the nations. Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy lies and commit adultery, will be slain by Nebuchadrezzar before the exiles' eyes. A further word goes to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, who had written to Zephaniah the priest and the other priests, saying the priest's office is to put in prison and stocks any madman who makes himself a prophet, and asking why he has not reproved Jeremiah for telling the captives the captivity would be long. Zephaniah reads Shemaiah's letter to Jeremiah, and the Lord declares that Shemaiah, whom he did not send, will be punished with his seed and will not see the good the Lord will do.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 29:1, Jeremiah 29:2, Jeremiah 29:3, Jeremiah 29:5, Jeremiah 29:6, Jeremiah 29:7, Jeremiah 29:8, Jeremiah 29:9, Jeremiah 29:10, Jeremiah 29:11, Jeremiah 29:13, Jeremiah 29:14, Jeremiah 29:15, Jeremiah 29:16, Jeremiah 29:17, Jeremiah 29:21, Jeremiah 29:23, Jeremiah 29:25, Jeremiah 29:26, Jeremiah 29:28, Jeremiah 29:29, Jeremiah 29:32, Jeremiah 29:27

Jeremiah 29 (KJV)

1Now 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;)

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,

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;

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

15Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets 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;

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.

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:

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.

20Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent 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;

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;

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.

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

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,

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.

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

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

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

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:

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.

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Historical context

Several people share names in this chapter and must be kept apart. Zedekiah king of Judah sends the messengers, while Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah is a prophet in Babylon condemned for lying; Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah is a priest in Jerusalem, and the text does not say whether the two sons of Maaseiah are related. Ahab the son of Kolaiah is a prophet among the exiles, not the earlier king of Israel. The king of Babylon is spelled both Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadrezzar in the same chapter. The letter is dated only by the notice that Jeconiah, the queen, eunuchs, princes, carpenters and smiths had already been deported. The seventy years are stated as a term to be accomplished at Babylon before the return. Shemaiah's letter claims that Zephaniah replaced Jehoiada as priest; that claim is in Shemaiah's words, not the narrator's. The killing of Ahab and Zedekiah by fire is given as the Lord's announcement and as the wording of a future curse, not as narrated event. The "vile figs" language matches the earlier oracle in which the Lord compares Zedekiah and the remnant to evil figs. The chapter does not say how the exiles received the letter beyond Shemaiah's reaction.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 29:3, Jeremiah 29:21, Jeremiah 29:25, Jeremiah 29:1, Jeremiah 29:2, Jeremiah 29:10, Jeremiah 29:26, Jeremiah 29:22, Jeremiah 24:8, Jeremiah 29:17

Literary context

The chapter is built from letters. Jeremiah's letter carries instructions for ordinary life in exile, then a promise with a term, then a warning about prophets. Shemaiah's letter quotes Jeremiah's own words back as an accusation, repeating "build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens." The Lord's final word is a reply to be sent to all the captivity. The refrain "I have not sent them" ties the prophets in Babylon to the earlier chapters, and the verdict on Shemaiah repeats the charge laid on Hananiah, "taught rebellion against the Lord." The contrast in the letter is sharp: those carried away are told to seek peace and expect an end, while those left in Jerusalem are promised sword, famine and pestilence. The invitation to call, pray, seek and find is placed between the seventy years and the gathering from all nations. The narrator's short notice that Zephaniah read the hostile letter in Jeremiah's ears is the only narrated action after the letter is sent.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 29:1, Jeremiah 29:5, Jeremiah 29:28, Jeremiah 29:31, Jeremiah 29:9, Jeremiah 29:32, Jeremiah 28:16, Jeremiah 29:7, Jeremiah 29:18, Jeremiah 29:12, Jeremiah 29:29

Key moments

  1. A letter to the captives (Jeremiah 29:1). Jeremiah sends a letter from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon.
  2. Build houses and plant gardens (Jeremiah 29:5). The exiles are told to settle and live where they are.
  3. Seek the peace of the city (Jeremiah 29:7). The captives are to pray for the city that holds them.
  4. Seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). The Lord promises to visit and return them after seventy years.
  5. Seek me and find me (Jeremiah 29:13). The Lord promises to be found by those who search with all their heart.
  6. Two prophets condemned (Jeremiah 29:21). Ahab and Zedekiah, who prophesy lies, will be delivered to the king of Babylon.
  7. Shemaiah's letter read to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:29). Zephaniah the priest reads the hostile letter in Jeremiah's hearing.

For reflection

The letter tells the captives to seek the peace of the city they were carried into and to pray for it. What does it cost to pray for the good of a place you did not choose?

People in this chapter

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