JER-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;

JER-29:2 (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;)

JER-29:3 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,

JER-29:4 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;

JER-29:5 Build ye houses, and dwell [in them]; and plant gardens,

 and eat the fruit of them;

JER-29:6 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.

JER-29:7 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.

JER-29:8 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.

JER-29:9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have

not sent them, saith the LORD.

JER-29:10 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.

JER-29:11 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.

JER-29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray

unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

JER-29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall

search for me with all your heart.

JER-29:14 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.

JER-29:15 Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up

prophets in Babylon;

JER-29:16 [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;

JER-29:17 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.

JER-29:18 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:

JER-29:19 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.

JER-29:20 Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the

captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:

JER-29:21 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;

JER-29:22 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;

JER-29:23 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.

JER-29:24 [Thus] shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the

Nehelamite, saying,

JER-29:25 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,

JER-29:26 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.

JER-29:27 Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of

Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?

JER-29:28 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.

JER-29:29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears

of Jeremiah the prophet.

JER-29:30 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

JER-29:31 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:

JER-29:32 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. 

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