Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah's Letter to the People of Judah in Babylonia

1-2I 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 priests, the prophets, the leaders, and the rest of our people in Babylonia.[#2 K 24.12-16; 2 Ch 36.10.; #29.1,2 See the note at 21.2.; #29.1,2 Hebrew “Jeconiah” (see the note at 24.1).]

3I 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[#29.3 Hebrew “Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah.”; #29.3 See the note at 1.3.]

4that the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said:

A Message for Shemaiah

24-25The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me what would happen to Shemaiah, who was one of our people in Babylonia. After my letter reached Babylonia, Shemaiah wrote letters to the people of Jerusalem, including the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and the other priests. The letter to Zephaniah said:[#29.24,25 Hebrew “Shemaiah, who came from the town of Nehelam.”]

29When Zephaniah received Shemaiah's letter, he read it to me.

30Then the Lord told me what to write in a second letter

31to the people of Judah who had been taken to Babylonia. In this letter, I wrote that the Lord had said:

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Published by: American Bible Society