Jeremiah 29:4
in Jeremiah 29This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem unto Babylon:
KJV
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;
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 29
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
As the exile was God’s doing for their good, they were to make the best of their position, and acquire wealth and influence; whereas if they were always restlessly looking out for the opportunity of returning home, they would rapidly fall into poverty and dwindle away. Jer 29:7 Seek the peace of the city ... - Not only because their welfare for seventy years was bound up with that of Babylon, but because it would have degraded their whole moral nature to have lived as conspirators, banded together against the country that was for the time their home.
This site's exposition
This is what the LORD of
on Jeremiah 29:4-7
The counsel is to settle, “Build houses and settle down,” which makes sense only if release is far off, and so answers Hananiah's two-year promise. The exiles are to “Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles,” and pray for it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 29, verses 1 and following) These are the words of the book that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders of the exile, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thus saith the Lord of hosts - This was the commencement of the letter.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֥ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֛ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֖וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַ֨גּוֹלָ֔ה | hagolah | the exile[s] | H1473 → | 43 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִגְלֵ֥יתִי | higleiti | I sent into exile | H1540 → | 186 times |
| מִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | mirushalim | from Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| בָּבֶֽלָה׃ | bavelah | Babylon towards | H894 → | 262 times |
כֹּ֥הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֛רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֖וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
הַ֨גּוֹלָ֔הthe exile[s]
hagolahH1473 →43 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הִגְלֵ֥יתִיI sent into exile
higleitiH1540 →186 times
מִירוּשָׁלִַ֖םfrom Jerusalem
mirushalimH3389 →643 times
בָּבֶֽלָה׃Babylon towards
bavelahH894 →262 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 45:7I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 7:13–14
Consider the work of God: Who can straighten what He has bent?
- Amos 3:6
If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
- Psalms 75:7
but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.
- Job 2:10
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
- Isaiah 31:2
Yet He too is wise and brings disaster; He does not call back His words. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against the allies of evildoers.
- Ecclesiastes 7:13–14
Through
Amos 3:6If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:7
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
- Zephaniah 1:16
a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.
- Isaiah 14:24–27
The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.
- Isaiah 45:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
