Jeremiah29

Jeremiah sends a letter to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, instructing them to settle, build, marry, and seek the peace of their captor city, for their own welfare. He warns against false prophets and promises their return to Jerusalem after seventy years, affirming the LORD's plans for their peace and a hopeful future. Meanwhile, judgment is pronounced upon false prophets in Babylon and those remaining in Jerusalem who reject the LORD's word.

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Jeremiah Sends a Letter to the Exiles

This 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 into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

(This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)

The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:

Instructions for Life in Exile

This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:

“Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.

Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.

Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Warning Against False Hope and Promise of Return

For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.

For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”

For 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.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

Judgment on Jerusalem and False Prophets

Because you may say, “The LORD has raised up for us prophets in Babylon,”

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 brothers who did not go with you into exile—

this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten.

I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.

I will do this because they have not listened to My words, declares the LORD, which I sent to them again and again through My servants the prophets. And neither have you exiles listened, declares the LORD.”

So hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.

Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’

For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”

The Condemnation of Shemaiah the Nehelamite

You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that

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, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:

‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons.

So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?

For 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.’”

(Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.)

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

“Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,

this 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 that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”

Study Notes for Jeremiah 29

Verse 1

This chapter is one of the most important pieces of correspondence in the Old Testament, sent by Jeremiah to the first wave of exiles deported to Babylon in 597 BC, including King Jeconiah (v. 2).

Verse 2

The first deportation included not only the royal family and officials but also essential skilled workers (carpenters and smiths), effectively neutralizing Judah's ability to wage war or rebuild.

Verse 3

The letter was delivered by messengers sent by King Zedekiah, likely to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, giving Jeremiah a secure channel to reach the captives in Babylon.

Verse 4

God explicitly states that He initiated the deportation. This emphasizes the theological point that Babylon’s victory was not a failure of Israel’s God, but an instrument of His sovereign judgment.

Verse 5

The command to 'build' and 'plant' was radical. It directly countered the false prophets who promised an immediate return, forcing the exiles to accept that their stay would be long and require establishing a permanent, though temporary, life.

Verse 7

This is a profound ethical and theological instruction. The exiles were commanded to seek the 'shalom' (peace/welfare) of their pagan captors, recognizing that their own well-being was inextricably linked to Babylon’s stability.

Verse 8

The exiles were being constantly agitated by prophets both in Jerusalem and among the captives who offered deceptive messages of imminent deliverance, undermining the necessary submission to God's decree.

Verse 10

The prophecy of 'seventy years' established a clear, fixed timeline for the duration of the exile, providing a definitive end to the immediate crisis and serving as a crucial anchor for the exiles’ faith.

Verse 11

This famous passage is a foundational theological statement. God reassures the traumatized exiles that His ultimate plan involves their restoration and prosperity ('peace' or shalom), not perpetual disaster.

Verse 13

The promise of finding God is conditional upon the people seeking Him 'with all your heart.' The exile was intended to purify their faith and bring about true repentance.

Verse 15

This verse marks a shift in focus, addressing the specific false claims made by prophets among the exiles, contrasting their lies with the severe judgment awaiting those left in Jerusalem.

Verse 17

The fate of those who remained in Jerusalem is likened to 'vile figs' (cf. Jer. 24), signifying that they were utterly worthless and destined for destruction by sword, famine, and pestilence.

Verse 21

Jeremiah pronounces specific judgment on two false prophets, Ahab and Zedekiah, who were actively misleading the exiles in Babylon, showing that God's justice reaches His people even in captivity.

Verse 22

The execution of these prophets by Nebuchadnezzar (who 'roasted' them) was so infamous that their names would become a standard curse formula used among the Babylonian exiles.

Verse 23

Their 'villany' included both prophetic lies and moral corruption (adultery), demonstrating that true prophecy requires both faithfulness to God’s word and personal integrity.

Verse 24

This section introduces a separate prophetic conflict, detailing how Shemaiah wrote a counter-letter from Babylon demanding that the authorities in Jerusalem imprison Jeremiah.

Verse 26

Shemaiah appeals to the priestly official (Zephaniah) to use his authority to confine anyone acting like a madman or false prophet—the very charge others had leveled against Jeremiah.

Verse 28

Shemaiah quotes Jeremiah’s letter (v. 5) as evidence that Jeremiah was a dangerous agitator who deserved imprisonment for encouraging acceptance of a long exile.

Verse 32

Shemaiah's judgment is severe and familial: he and his descendants will be cut off. His sin is defined as teaching 'rebellion' (sarah) against the sovereign will of the LORD, who had decreed the length of the exile.

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Jeremiah29

Jeremiah Sends a Letter to the Exiles

Instructions for Life in Exile

Warning Against False Hope and Promise of Return

Judgment on Jerusalem and False Prophets

The Condemnation of Shemaiah the Nehelamite

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