Jeremiah 29:7-17

7 And seek ye [the] peace of the cities, to which I made you to pass over; and pray ye the Lord for it, for in the peace thereof shall be peace to you. (And seek ye the peace of any city, to which I made you to be carried away captive; yea, pray ye to the Lord for it, for in its peace shall be peace for you.)

8 The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, Your prophets, that be in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you not (Let not your prophets, and your diviners, who be in the midst of you, deceive you); and take ye none heed to your dreams, which ye dream;

9 for they prophesy falsely to you in my name, and I sent not them, saith the Lord. (for they prophesy falsely to you in my name, and I did not send them, saith the Lord.)

10 For the Lord saith these things, When seventy years begin to be [ful]filled in Babylon, I shall visit you, and I shall raise on you my good word, and I shall bring you again to this place.

11 For I know the thoughts which I think on you, saith the Lord, the thoughts of peace, and not of torment, that I give to you an end and patience. (For I know the thoughts which I think about you, saith the Lord, the thoughts of peace, and not of torment, so that I shall give you a good ending.)

12 And ye shall call me to help (And ye shall call on me for help), and ye shall go, and shall worship me, and I shall hear you;

13 ye shall seek me, and ye shall find, when ye seek me in all your heart. (ye shall seek me, and ye shall find me, when ye seek me with all your heart.)

14 And I shall be found of you, saith the Lord, and I shall bring (you back) again (from) your captivity, and I shall gather you from all folks, and from all places, to which I casted out you, saith the Lord; and I shall make you to turn again from the place, to which I made you to pass over. (And I shall be found by you, saith the Lord, and I shall restore your fortunes, and I shall gather you from all the nations, and from all the places, to which I cast you out, saith the Lord; and I shall bring you back from the place, to which I made you to be carried away captive.)

15 For ye said, The Lord shall raise (up) prophets to us in Babylon. (For ye said, The Lord hath raised up prophets for us in Babylon.)

16 For the Lord saith these things to the king, that sitteth on the seat of David, and to all the people, dweller(s) of this city, (and) to your brethren, that went not out with you into the passing over, (For the Lord saith these things to the king, who sitteth on David's throne, and to all the people, the inhabitants of this city, and to your kinsmen, who did not go out with you into captivity,)

17 The Lord of hosts saith these things, Lo! I shall send among them sword, and hunger, and pestilence; and I shall set them as evil figs, that may not be eaten, for those be full evil (for they be too rotten to eat).

Jeremiah 29:7-17 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.