Jeremiah 29:1-14.
Jeremiah 29.1-14
Jeremiah's Letter to the People of Judah in Babylonia
"I had been left in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar took many of
the people of Jerusalem and Judah to Babylonia as prisoners, including
King Jehoiachin, his mother, his officials, and the metal workers and
others in Jerusalem who were skilled in making things. So I wrote a
letter to the prophets, the priests, the leaders, and the rest of our
people in Babylonia. I gave the letter to Elasah and Gemariah, two
men that King Zedekiah of Judah was sending to Babylon to talk with
Nebuchadnezzar. In the letter, I wrote that the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel, had said: I had you taken from Jerusalem to
Babylonia. Now I tell you to settle there and build houses. Plant
gardens and eat what you grow in them. Get married and have children,
then help your sons find wives and help your daughters find husbands,
so they can have children as well. I want your numbers to grow, not to
get smaller.
Pray for peace in Babylonia and work hard to make it prosperous. The
more successful that nation is, the better off you will be. Some of
your people there in Babylonia are fortunetellers, and you have asked
them to tell you what will happen in the future. But they will only
lead you astray. And don't let the prophets fool you, either. They
speak in my name, but they are liars. I have not spoken to them. After
Babylonia has been the strongest nation for seventy years, I will be
kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised. I will
bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of
suffering. You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will
answer your prayers. You will worship me with all your heart, and I
will be with you and accept your worship. Then I will gather you from
all the nations where I scattered you, and you will return to
Jerusalem."
God bless you.
Jeremiah's Letter to the People of Judah in Babylonia
"I had been left in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar took many of
the people of Jerusalem and Judah to Babylonia as prisoners, including
King Jehoiachin, his mother, his officials, and the metal workers and
others in Jerusalem who were skilled in making things. So I wrote a
letter to the prophets, the priests, the leaders, and the rest of our
people in Babylonia. I gave the letter to Elasah and Gemariah, two
men that King Zedekiah of Judah was sending to Babylon to talk with
Nebuchadnezzar. In the letter, I wrote that the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel, had said: I had you taken from Jerusalem to
Babylonia. Now I tell you to settle there and build houses. Plant
gardens and eat what you grow in them. Get married and have children,
then help your sons find wives and help your daughters find husbands,
so they can have children as well. I want your numbers to grow, not to
get smaller.
Pray for peace in Babylonia and work hard to make it prosperous. The
more successful that nation is, the better off you will be. Some of
your people there in Babylonia are fortunetellers, and you have asked
them to tell you what will happen in the future. But they will only
lead you astray. And don't let the prophets fool you, either. They
speak in my name, but they are liars. I have not spoken to them. After
Babylonia has been the strongest nation for seventy years, I will be
kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised. I will
bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of
suffering. You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will
answer your prayers. You will worship me with all your heart, and I
will be with you and accept your worship. Then I will gather you from
all the nations where I scattered you, and you will return to
Jerusalem."
God bless you.
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