Jeremiah 29:4-28

4 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have ¹sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

5 '²Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.

6 'Take ³wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.

7 '⁴Seek the welfare of the city where * I have sent you into exile, and ⁵pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.'

8 "For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your ⁶prophets who are in your midst and your diviners ⁷deceive you, and do not listen to ⁸the dreams which they dream.

9 'For they ⁹prophesy falsely to you in My name; ¹⁰I have not sent them,' declares the LORD.

10 "For thus says the LORD, 'When ¹¹seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My ¹²good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

11 'For I know the ¹³plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for ¹⁴welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a ¹⁵hope.

12 'Then you will ¹⁶call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will ¹⁷listen to you.

13 'You will ¹⁸seek Me and find Me when you ¹⁹search for Me with all your heart.

14 'I will be ²⁰found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will ²¹restore your fortunes and will ²²gather you from all the nations and from all the places where * I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will ²³bring you back to the place from where * I sent you into exile.'

15 "Because you have said, 'The LORD has raised up ²⁴prophets for us in Babylon '-

16 for thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did ²⁵not go with you into exile -

17 thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, I am sending upon them the ²⁶sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like ²⁷split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness.

18 'I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will ²⁸make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a ²⁹curse and a horror and a ³⁰hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where * I have driven them,

19 because * they have ³¹not listened to My words,' declares the LORD, 'which I sent to them again and again by ³²My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,' declares the LORD.

20 "You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have ³³sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are ³⁴prophesying to you falsely in My name, 'Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes.

22 'Because of them a ³⁵curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, "May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon ³⁶roasted in the fire,

23 because * they have ³⁷acted foolishly in Israel, and ³⁸have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and have ³⁹spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who ⁴⁰knows and am a witness," declares the LORD.' "

24 To ⁴¹Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,

25 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Because * you have sent ⁴²letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ⁴³Zephaniah 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 be the ⁴⁴overseer in the house of the LORD over every ⁴⁵madman who ⁴⁶prophesies, to ⁴⁷put him in the stocks and in the iron collar,

27 now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of ⁴⁸Anathoth who prophesies to you?

28 "For he has ⁴⁹sent to us in Babylon, saying, 'The exile will be ⁵⁰long; ⁵¹build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.' ""'

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Jeremiah 29:4-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 29

Thus chapter contains a letter of Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon; and gives an account of another sent from thence by Shemaiah to the people at Jerusalem; and is closed with threatening him with punishment for so doing. Jeremiah's letter concerns both the captives at Babylon, and the people left at Jerusalem, The persons to whom and by whom it was sent, and the time of writing and sending it, are mentioned in Jer 29:1-3; and though the prophet was the amanuensis, God was the author of it, as well as of their captivity, Jer 29:4; the contents of, it, respecting the captives, are advices to them to provide for their comfortable settlement in Babylon, and not think of returning quickly, by building houses, planting gardens, marrying, and giving in marriage, Jer 29:5,6; and to seek and pray for the prosperity of the place where they were; in which their own was concerned, Jer 29:7; to give no heed to their false prophets and diviners, Jer 29:8,9; and to expect a return to Jerusalem at the end of seventy years; which they might be assured of, since God had resolved upon it in his own mind, Jer 29:10,11; and especially if they called upon him, prayed to him, and sought him heartily, Jer 29:12-14; the other part of the letter respects the Jews in Jerusalem; concerning whom the captives are directed to observe, that both the king and people should suffer much by sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity, with the reason of it, Jer 29:15-19; particularly it is foretold, that Ahab and Zedekiah, two lying prophets, should be made an example of vengeance; and a proverbial curse should be taken of them, because of their villany, lewdness, and lies, Jer 29:20-23; next follows some account of Shemaiah's letter from Babylon, to the people and priests at Jerusalem, stirring them up against Jeremiah the prophet; which came to be known, by the priests reading it to him, Jer 29:24-29; upon which Shemaiah is threatened with punishment, and his seed after him, Jer 29:30-32.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 51

1. Jeremiah 24:5
2. Jeremiah 29:28
3. Jeremiah 16:2-4
4. Daniel 4:27; Daniel 6:4, 5
5. Ezra 6:10; Ezra 7:23; Daniel 4:19; 1 Timothy 2:1, 2
6. Jeremiah 27:9; Jeremiah 29:1
7. Jeremiah 14:14; Jeremiah 23:21; Jeremiah 27:14, 15; Jeremiah 28:15; Ephesians 5:6
8. Jeremiah 23:25, 27
9. Jeremiah 27:15; Jeremiah 29:21
10. Jeremiah 29:31
11. 2 Chronicles 36:21-23; Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 27:22; Daniel 9:2; Zechariah 7:5
12. Jeremiah 24:6, 7; Zephaniah 2:7
13. Psalms 40:5; Jeremiah 23:5, 6; Jeremiah 30:9, 10
14. Isaiah 40:9-11; Jeremiah 30:18-22
15. Jeremiah 31:17; Hosea 2:15
16. Psalms 50:15; Jeremiah 33:3; Daniel 9:3
17. Psalms 145:19
18. Deuteronomy 4:29; Psalms 32:6; Matthew 7:7
19. 1 Chronicles 22:19; 2 Chronicles 22:9; Jeremiah 24:7
20. Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Psalms 32:6; Isaiah 55:6
21. Jeremiah 30:3; Jeremiah 32:37-41
22. Isaiah 43:5, 6; Jeremiah 23:8; Jeremiah 32:37
23. Jeremiah 3:14; Jeremiah 12:15; Jeremiah 16:15
24. Jeremiah 29:21, 24
25. Jer 38:2, 3, 17-23
26. Jeremiah 27:8; Jeremiah 29:18; Jeremiah 32:24
27. Jer 24:3, 8-10
28. Deuteronomy 28:25; 2 Chronicles 29:8; Jeremiah 15:4; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 34:17; Ezekiel 12:15
29. Isaiah 65:15; Jeremiah 42:18
30. Jeremiah 25:9; Lamentations 2:15, 16
31. Jeremiah 6:19
32. Jeremiah 25:4; Jeremiah 26:5; Jeremiah 35:15
33. Jeremiah 24:5; Ezekiel 11:9; Micah 4:10
34. Jeremiah 14:14, 15; Jeremiah 29:8, 9; Lamentations 2:14; 2 Peter 2:1
35. Isaiah 65:15
36. Daniel 3:6, 21
37. Genesis 34:7; 2 Samuel 13:12
38. Jeremiah 5:8; Jeremiah 23:14
39. Jer 29:8, 9, 21
40. Proverbs 5:21; Jeremiah 7:11; Jeremiah 16:17; Malachi 3:5; Hebrews 4:13
41. Jeremiah 29:31, 32
42. Jeremiah 29:1
43. 2 Kings 25:18; Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:29; Jeremiah 37:3; Jeremiah 52:24
44. Jeremiah 20:1
45. 2 Kings 9:11; Hosea 9:7; Mark 3:21; John 10:20; Acts 26:24, 25; 2 Corinthians 5:13
46. Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Zechariah 13:1-5
47. Jeremiah 20:1, 2; Acts 16:24
48. Jeremiah 1:1
49. Jeremiah 29:1
50. Jeremiah 29:10
51. Jeremiah 29:5

Footnotes 12

[a]. Lit "fruit"
[b]. Lit "beget"
[c]. Or "peace"
[d]. Or "peace"
[e]. Or "peace"
[f]. Lit "your"
[g]. Lit "you"
[h]. Lit "am planning"
[i]. Or "captivity"
[j]. Lit "taken"
[k]. Lit "overseers"
[l]. Lit "fruit"