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Jeremiah

Jeremiahchapter 29

32 verses · BSBJeremiah book hub →

A.Build Houses, Plant Gardens, Seek the Peace of the Cityvv. 1-14

1 This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 (This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.) 3 The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated: 4 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. 7 Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.” 8 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them. 9 For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.” 10 For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

B.Ahab and Zedekiah Roasted in the Firevv. 15-23

15 Because you may say, “The LORD has raised up for us prophets in Babylon,” 16 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 brothers who did not go with you into exile— 17 this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them. 19 I will do this because they have not listened to My words, declares the LORD, which I sent to them again and again through My servants the prophets. And neither have you exiles listened, declares the LORD.” 20 So hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes. 22 Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’ 23 For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”

C.Shemaiah's Letter and the LORD's Answervv. 24-32

24 You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that 25 this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah: 26 ‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons. 27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’” 29 (Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.) 30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie, 32 this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition
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Chapter summary

A letter to the exiles already in Babylon.

Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾

A letter to the exiles already in Babylon. Settle in: 'Build ye houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens' (take wives, multiply) 'and seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it' (29:5-7). The prophets among them promising a quick return are lying. After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, God will visit them: 'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end'. And 'ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart' (29:11-13). Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah are named and sentenced.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Jeremiah — Jeremiah overview

  • A. 1–14 Build Houses, Plant Gardens, Seek the Peace of the City
  • B. 15–23 Ahab and Zedekiah Roasted in the Fire
  • C. 24–32 Shemaiah's Letter and the LORD's Answer
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
  • Jeremiah 299 verses
    • Jeremiah 29:5“Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.
    • Jeremiah 29:8For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.
    • Jeremiah 29:9For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”
    • Jeremiah 29:10For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
    • Jeremiah 29:18I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
    • Jeremiah 29:25this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:
    • Read Jeremiah 29: 3 more there →
  • Jeremiah 243 verses
    • Jeremiah 24:5“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.
    • Jeremiah 24:6I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
    • Jeremiah 24:8But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.
    • Read Jeremiah 24 →
  • Jeremiah 272 verses
    • Jeremiah 27:15For I have not sent them, declares the LORD, and yet they are prophesying falsely in My name; therefore I will banish you, and you will perish—you and the prophets who prophesy to you.”
    • Jeremiah 27:20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.
    • Read Jeremiah 27 →
  • 2 Kings 222 verses
    • 2 Kings 22:8Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
    • 2 Kings 22:12and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:
    • Read 2 Kings 22 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
  • Micah 42 verses
    • Micah 4:10Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies!
    • Micah 4:12But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD or understand His plan, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
    • Read Micah 4 →
  • Jeremiah 382 verses
    • Jeremiah 38:2“This is what the LORD says: Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war, and he will live.
    • Jeremiah 38:17Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you indeed surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will not be burned down, and you and your household will survive.
    • Read Jeremiah 38 →
  • Daniel 32 verses
    • Daniel 3:6And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.”
    • Daniel 3:21So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.
    • Read Daniel 3 →
  • Ezekiel 132 verses
    • Ezekiel 13:8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.
    • Ezekiel 13:22Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their lives,
    • Read Ezekiel 13 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.