Jeremiah 29:28
in Jeremiah 29For 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.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
forasmuch as he hath sent unto us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them?
KJV
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 29
Commentary
5 notes on this verseJeremiah had said that it would come, and the event had already proved him in the right, which obliged them to give credit to him who now said that it would be long, rather than to those who said that it would be short, but had once before been found liars. He demands judgment against him, taking it for granted that he is mad, and makes himself a prophet.
This site's exposition
So now, why have you not
on Jeremiah 29:27-28
Shemaiah quotes Jeremiah's counsel back: “Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.” Jeremiah had sent that counsel to the exiles in verse 5. Shemaiah treats patience as the offense and asks why Jeremiah, who “poses as a prophet,” goes unrebuked.
This site's exposition
Since the exile will be lengthy
Shemaiah quotes the letter of verse 5 back as proof of Jeremiah's madness. Matthew Henry points out Jeremiah had foretold the first captivity and been proved right, while the prophets of a short exile had been found false. The counsel of patience is the whole charge.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 24 and following) And to Semeias the Nehelamite you shall say. And what follows: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Since you have sent in your name letters to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Sophonias the son of Maasias the priest. And again from the Hebrew: And to all the priests (the Vulgate adds saying).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying,....
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | since | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֞ן | ken | <thus> | H3651 → | 771 times |
| שָׁלַ֥ח | shalach | he has sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֵלֵ֛ינוּ | ʾeleinu | to us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בָּבֶ֥ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| לֵאמֹ֖ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲרֻכָּ֣ה | ʾarukah | [will be] a long [time] | H752 → | |
| הִ֑יא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בְּנ֤וּ | benu | build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| בָתִּים֙ | vatim | houses | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְשֵׁ֔בוּ | veshevu | and dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| וְנִטְע֣וּ | venitu | and plant | H5193 → | 58 times |
| גַנּ֔וֹת | ganot | gardens | H1593 → | |
| וְאִכְל֖וּ | veikhlu | and eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פְּרִיהֶֽן׃ | perihen | produce their | H6529 → | 119 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עַל־since
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֞ן<thus>
kenH3651 →771 times
שָׁלַ֥חhe has sent
shalachH7971 →845 times
אֵלֵ֛ינוּto us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
בָּבֶ֥לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
לֵאמֹ֖ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אֲרֻכָּ֣ה[will be] a long [time]
ʾarukahH752 →
הִ֑יאit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
בְּנ֤וּbuild
benuH1129 →376 times
בָתִּים֙houses
vatimH1004 →2046 times
וְשֵׁ֔בוּand dwell
veshevuH3427 →1079 times
וְנִטְע֣וּand plant
venituH5193 →58 times
גַנּ֔וֹתgardens
ganotH1593 →
וְאִכְל֖וּand eat
veikhluH398 →810 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פְּרִיהֶֽן׃produce their
perihenH6529 →119 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
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.
it leads to
- Daniel 9:2
in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.
- Jeremiah 24:6–7
I 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.
- Zechariah 7:5
“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
- Jeremiah 27:22
‘They will be carried to Babylon and will remain there until the day I attend to them again,’ declares the LORD. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’”
- Jeremiah 32:42–44
For this is what the LORD says: Just as I have brought all this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good I have promised them.
- Daniel 9:2
Through
Jeremiah 29:1This 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…
it leads to
- Esther 9:20
Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far,
- Jeremiah 29:25–29
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,…
- Acts 15:23
and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
- Esther 9:20
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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.