Letter of Jeremiah 6:1-10

1 ^[a] A copy of a letter that Jeremiah sent to those who were to be taken to Babylon as exiles by the king of the Babylonians, to give them the message that God had commanded him.

2 Because of the sins that you have committed before God, you will be taken to Babylon as exiles by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians.

3 Therefore when you have come to Babylon you will remain there for many years, for a long time, up to seven generations; after that I will bring you away from there in peace.

4 Now in Babylon you will see gods made of silver and gold and wood, which people carry on their shoulders, and which cause the heathen to fear.

5 So beware of becoming at all like the foreigners or of letting fear for these gods ^[b] possess you

6 when you see the multitude before and behind them worshiping them. But say in your heart, "It is you, O Lord, whom we must worship."

7 For my angel is with you, and he is watching over your lives.

8 Their tongues are smoothed by the carpenter, and they themselves are overlaid with gold and silver; but they are false and cannot speak.

9 People ^[c] take gold and make crowns for the heads of their gods, as they might for a girl who loves ornaments.

10 Sometimes the priests secretly take gold and silver from their gods and spend it on themselves,

Footnotes

• [a]. The King James Version (like the Latin Vulgate) prints The Letter of Jeremiah as Chapter 6 of the Book of Baruch, and the chapter and verse numbers are here retained. In the Greek Septuagint, the Letter is separated from Baruch by the Book of Lamentations.
• [b]. Gk [for them]
• [c]. Gk [They]