Jeremiah 29:2

2 after that Jeconiah, the king, went out, and the lady, and the honest servants and chaste, and the princes of Judah went out of Jerusalem, and a subtle craftsman, and a goldsmith of Jerusalem, (after that King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, and the honest and chaste servants, or the eunuchs, and the princes, or the leaders, of Judah and of Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the goldsmiths, had left Jerusalem,)

Jeremiah 29:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 29:2

After that Jeconiah the king
Of Judah; the same with Jehoiachin, who was carried captive into Babylon when he had reigned but three months: and the queen;
not Jeconiah's wife, for he had none; but his mother, whose name was Nehushta, and who was carried captive with him, ( 2 Kings 24:8 2 Kings 24:12 ) ; and the eunuchs;
or "chamberlains" to the queen; the Targum calls them princes; these were of the king's household, his courtiers; and such persons have been everywhere, and in all ages, court favourites: and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem;
the noblemen and grandees of the nation: and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;
whom Nebuchadnezzar took with him, partly for his own use in his own country; and partly that the Jews might be deprived of such artificers, that could assist in fortifying their city, and providing them with military weapons; (See Gill on Jeremiah 24:1).

Jeremiah 29:2 In-Context

1 And these be the words of the book, which Jeremy, the prophet, sent from Jerusalem to the residues of [the] elder men of [the] passing over (And these be the words of the letter, which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem, to the remaining elders among those carried away captive), and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had led over from Jerusalem into Babylon,

2 after that Jeconiah, the king, went out, and the lady, and the honest servants and chaste, and the princes of Judah went out of Jerusalem, and a subtle craftsman, and a goldsmith of Jerusalem, (after that King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, and the honest and chaste servants, or the eunuchs, and the princes, or the leaders, of Judah and of Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the goldsmiths, had left Jerusalem,)

3 in the hand of Elasah, (the) son of Shaphan, and of Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, which Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, into Babylon. And Jeremy said, (by the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and of Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in Babylon. And Jeremiah said,)

4 The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things to all the passing over, which I translated from Jerusalem into Babylon, (The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith these things to all those, whom I carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,)

5 Build ye houses, and inhabit (them), and plant ye orchards, and eat ye [the] fruit of them;