Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

1Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the exiled elders, the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2This was after Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. 3He sent the letter by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said:

4YHWH Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all the captives whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5“Y’all are to build houses and dwell in them. Y’all are to plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6Y’all are to take wives and bear sons and daughters. Then take wives for your* sons, and give your* daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters. Y’all must increase in number where y’all are, and not decrease. 7Y’all are to seek the prosperity of the city where I have sent y’all into exile. Y’all are to pray to YHWH on its behalf, because in its prosperity y’all will have prosperity.” 8For YHWH Almighty, the God of Israel says: “Y’all must not let your* prophets and diviners deceive y’all. And Y’all must not listen to the dreams which y’all encourage them to dream. 9For they prophesy falsely to y’all in my name. I did not sent them,” says YHWH. 10For YHWH says, “After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit y’all and fulfill my good word toward y’all, to return y’all to this place. 11For I know the plans I have for y’all,” declares YHWH, “plans for prosperity not disaster, to give y’all hope and a future. 12Y’all will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to y’all. 13Y’all will seek me and find me, when y’all search for me with all your* heart. 14I will be found by y’all,” says YHWH, “and I will reverse your* captivity, and I will gather y’all from all the nations and places where I have driven y’all, says YHWH. I will bring y’all again to the place from where I caused y’all to be carried away into exile.”

15Because y’all have said, “YHWH has raised us up prophets for us in Babylon,” 16YHWH says concerning the king who sits on David’s throne, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your* siblings who didn’t go with y’all into captivity, 17YHWH Almighty says: “Look, I will send the sword, famine, and pestilence on them, and I will make them like rotten figs that can’t be eaten, because they are so bad. 18I will pursue them with the sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will deliver them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of horror, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19because they have not listened to my words,” says YHWH, “that I sent to them through my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them. But y’all wouldn’t listen,” says YHWH.

20Therefore, y’all must listen to the word of YHWH, all captives whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21YHWH Almighty, the God of Israel, says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to y’all in my name: “Look, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he will kill them before y’all’s eyes. 22Because of them, all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon will take up a curse, saying, ‘YHWH make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’ 23For they have done foolish things in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I did not command them. I am ʜᴇ who knows. I am witness to it,” says YHWH.

Message to Shemaiah, the False Prophet

24Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you are to speak, saying, 25“YHWH Almighty, the God of Israel, says, ‘Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26“YHWH has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in the house of YHWH, for every man who is crazy and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles. 27Now, why haven’t you rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who has been acting as a prophet to y’all. 28He has sent word to us in Babylon, saying, The exile will be long. So y’all should build houses and dwell in them. Y’all should plant gardens and eat their fruit.”’”

29Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah, saying, 31“You are to send to all of the captives, saying, ‘YHWH says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to y’all, even though I did not send him, and he persuaded y’all to trust a lie,” 32this is what YHWH says, “Look, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will not have a anyone dwelling among this people. He won’t see the good that I will do for my people,” says YHWH, “because he has spoken rebellion against YHWH.”’”