Verse
BSB
Berean Standard Bible
KJV
King James Version
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 .
Now
these
are
the words
of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto
the residue
of
the elders
which
were
carried
away
captives,
and to the priests, and
to
the prophets, and to
all the people
whom
Nebuchadnezzar had carried away
captive
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 .
)
(After that
Jeconiah the
king
, and
the queen, and
the eunuchs
, the princes
of Judah and Jerusalem, and
the carpenters
, and the smiths,
were
departed
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:
By
the hand
of
Elasah the
son of Shaphan ,
and Gemariah the
son of Hilkiah, (
whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto
Babylon
to Nebuchadnezzar king
of
Babylon )
saying,
This
is
what
the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says
to
all the
exiles
who
were
carried away from Jerusalem to
Babylon :
Thus
saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto
all that
are
carried away captives,
whom
I
have
caused
to
be
carried
away
from Jerusalem unto
Babylon ;
“
Build houses and settle
down.
Plant gardens and eat their
produce.
Build ye
houses ,
and dwell
in
them;
and
plant gardens ,
and eat the
fruit
of
them;
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
.
Take ye
wives ,
and beget
sons and daughters ;
and
take wives for your sons ,
and give your daughters to
husbands
, that they may bear
sons and daughters; that
ye
may
be
increased
there,
and
not diminished
.
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
. ”
And
seek the peace
of the city whither
I have caused
you to be
carried
away
captives,
and
pray
unto
the LORD for it :
for
in
the
peace
thereof
shall
ye
have
peace
.
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 thus
saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel ;
Let
not your
prophets and your
diviners ,
that
be
in
the
midst
of
you, deceive
you,
neither
hearken
to your
dreams which
ye
cause
to
be
dreamed
.
For they are
falsely prophesying
to
you in My name ;
I have not sent them, declares
the LORD. ”
For they prophesy
falsely unto
you in my name :
I have not sent them, saith
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 thus
saith
the LORD ,
That
after
seventy years be
accomplished
at
Babylon
I will visit
you ,
and perform
my good
word
toward
you ,
in
causing
you
to return
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
.
For I know the thoughts
that
I think
toward
you, saith
the LORD, thoughts
of
peace,
and not of
evil
, to give you an
expected
end
.
Then you
will
call upon Me and come
and pray to
Me, and I will listen
to
you.
Then shall
ye
call upon me ,
and ye
shall
go
and pray unto
me, and I will hearken
unto
you.
You
will
seek Me and find Me when you
search for Me with all your heart.
And
ye
shall
seek me ,
and find me ,
when ye
shall
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
. ”
And
I will be found of
you, saith
the LORD :
and I will turn
away
your
captivity ,
and I
will
gather you from all the nations ,
and from
all
the
places whither
I have driven
you, saith
the LORD ;
and
I will bring
you again
into
the place whence
I caused
you to
be
carried
away
captive
.
Because you
may
say
, “
The LORD has
raised up
for
us prophets in Babylon ,”
Because ye
have
said
, The LORD hath
raised us up
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—
Know
that
thus
saith
the LORD of
the king that
sitteth
upon
the
throne of
David,
and of
all the people that
dwelleth
in this city, and
of
your brethren
that
are
not gone
forth
with you into captivity;
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.
Thus
saith
the LORD of hosts ;
Behold,
I will send upon
them the
sword ,
the
famine ,
and the
pestilence
, and will make them like vile
figs, that
cannot be eaten ,
they
are
so
evil
.
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 .
And
I will persecute
them with the
sword ,
with
the
famine ,
and with
the
pestilence,
and
will deliver
them to be
removed
to
all the kingdoms of the earth ,
to
be
a curse, and
an
astonishment
, and an hissing,
and a
reproach ,
among all the nations whither
I have
driven
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. ”
Because they have not hearkened
to my words, saith
the LORD, which I sent unto
them by
my servants the prophets ,
rising
up
early
and sending
them;
but
ye
would
not
hear
, saith
the LORD.
So
hear the word of the LORD, all you
exiles
I have sent away
from Jerusalem to Babylon .
Hear ye
therefore
the word of the LORD, all ye
of
the
captivity,
whom
I have sent 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 .
Thus
saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of
Ahab the
son of Kolaiah ,
and of
Zedekiah the
son of Maaseiah, which
prophesy
a
lie
unto
you in my name ;
Behold,
I will deliver them into
the
hand
of
Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon ;
and he shall
slay
them before your 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 !’
And
of them shall
be
taken
up
a
curse
by
all the captivity
of Judah which
are in Babylon ,
saying,
The LORD make thee
like Zedekiah and like
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. ”
Because
they have committed villany
in Israel ,
and
have
committed
adultery with their neighbours'
wives,
and have
spoken
lying
words
in my name, which I have
not commanded
them ;
even
I know
, and am a witness, saith
the LORD.
You
are
to tell
Shemaiah the Nehelamite that
Thus
shalt
thou
also
speak
to Shemaiah the Nehelamite ,
saying,
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:
Thus
speaketh
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying,
Because
thou
hast
sent letters in
thy
name
unto
all the people that
are
at
Jerusalem, and
to Zephaniah the
son of Maaseiah the
priest
, and to all the priests ,
saying,
‘
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
.
The LORD hath
made
thee
priest in the
stead
of Jehoiada the
priest
, that
ye
should
be officers
in the house of the LORD, for every
man
that
is
mad,
and
maketh
himself
a prophet ,
that
thou
shouldest
put him in prison,
and in
the
stocks
.
So
now ,
why have
you
not rebuked
Jeremiah of Anathoth, who
poses
as
a prophet among
you?
Now therefore
why hast
thou
not reproved
Jeremiah of Anathoth, which
maketh
himself
a prophet to
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
. ’”
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
.
(
Zephaniah the priest ,
however,
had
read this letter to
Jeremiah the prophet. )
And
Zephaniah the priest read this letter in
the
ears
of
Jeremiah the prophet.
Then the word of the LORD came
to
Jeremiah :
Then came
the word of the LORD unto
Jeremiah ,
saying,
“
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 ,
Send to
all them
of
the captivity,
saying,
Thus
saith
the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite ;
Because that
Shemaiah hath
prophesied unto
you ,
and
I sent
him not,
and he
caused
you to
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. ’”
Therefore
thus
saith
the LORD ;
Behold,
I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite ,
and his seed:
he shall
not
have a
man
to
dwell
among this people ;
neither
shall
he behold
the good that I will do
for
my people, saith
the LORD ;
because
he hath
taught
rebellion against the LORD.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible and King James Version. Public domain; source text distributed by BSB Publishing, LLC.; UK publication rights are administered by the Crown's patentee; public domain in most other jurisdictions..