Jeremiah 29:5-15

5 ¹Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.

6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.

7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ²pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ³Do not let your prophets and ⁴your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,^[a]

9 for ⁵it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ⁶I did not send them, declares the LORD.

10 "For thus says the LORD: ⁷When seventy years are completed for Babylon, ⁸I will visit you, ⁹and I will fulfill to you my promise ¹⁰and bring you back to this place.

11 ¹¹For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare^[b] and not for evil, ¹²to give you a future and a hope.

12 ¹³Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ¹⁴and I will hear you.

13 ¹⁵You will seek me and find me, when you seek me ¹⁶with all your heart.

14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, ¹⁷and I will restore your fortunes and ¹⁸gather you from all the nations and all the places ¹⁹where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

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

Jeremiah 29:5-15 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.

Cross References

• 1. ver. 28
• 2. [Ezra 6:10; 1 Timothy 2:1, 2]
• 3. [Jeremiah 5:31; Jeremiah 6:14]
• 4. Jeremiah 27:9, 15
• 5. See Jeremiah 5:31
• 6. ver. 31
• 7. See Jeremiah 25:12
• 8. Jeremiah 27:22
• 9. Jeremiah 33:14; [Jeremiah 24:6]
• 10. Jeremiah 33:14; [Jeremiah 24:6]
• 11. [Isaiah 55:8, 9]
• 12. Jeremiah 31:17
• 13. Jeremiah 33:3; Daniel 9:3
• 14. Jeremiah 33:3; Daniel 9:3
• 15. 2 Chronicles 15:2; Psalms 32:6; Psalms 78:34; Proverbs 8:17; Isaiah 55:6; Hosea 3:5; See Leviticus 26:39-42; Deuteronomy 30:1-3
• 16. Jeremiah 24:7; Deuteronomy 4:29
• 17. Jeremiah 30:3
• 18. See Jeremiah 23:3
• 19. See Jeremiah 8:3

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew your dreams, which you cause to dream
• [b]. Or peace