1This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.2(This was after King Jehoiachin* and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the craftsmen had gone into exile from Jerusalem.)3He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:4This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:5‘Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.6Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.7Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’8Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.9They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.10This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place.11For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.14I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.* I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’15You may say, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’16but 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 fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile –17yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.18I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse* and an object of horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them.19For they have not listened to my words,’ declares the Lord, ‘words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either,’ declares the Lord.20Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.21This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: ‘I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes.22Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.”23For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies – which I did not authorise. I know it and am a witness to it,’ declares the Lord.
Message to Shemaiah
24Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite,25‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: you sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah,26“The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons.27So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?28He has sent this message to us in Babylon: it will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.” ’29Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet.30Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:31‘Send this message to all the exiles: “This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies,32this 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 things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion against me.” ’
English Standard Version
Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles
1These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.2This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem.3The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said:4“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:5Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.6Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.7But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.8For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,*9for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.10“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare* and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.13You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.14I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.15“Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’16thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile:17‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten.18I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,19because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’20Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon:21‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes.22Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,”23because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. I am the one who knows, and I am witness, declares the Lord.’”
Shemaiah’s False Prophecy
24To Shemaiah of Nehelam you shall say:25“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,26‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have charge in the house of the Lord over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and neck irons.27Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who is prophesying to you?28For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”29Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet.30Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:31“Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie,32therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, for he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”
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