Jeremiah 29:9-19

9 They are telling you lies in my name. I did not send them. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.'

10 "The Lord says, "When Babylonia's seventy years are over, I will show my concern for you and keep my promise to bring you back home. ¹

11 I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.

12 Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.

13 You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart. ²

14 Yes, I say, you will find me, and I will restore you to your land. I will gather you from every country and from every place to which I have scattered you, and I will bring you back to the land from which I had sent you away into exile. I, the Lord, have spoken.'

15 "You say that the Lord has given you prophets in Babylonia.

16 Listen to what the Lord says about the king who rules the kingdom that David ruled and about the people of this city, that is, your relatives who were not taken away as prisoners with you.

17 The Lord Almighty says, "I am bringing war, starvation, and disease on them, and I will make them like figs that are too rotten to be eaten.

18 I will pursue them with war, starvation, and disease, and all the nations of the world will be horrified at what they see. Everywhere I scatter them, people will be shocked and terrified at what has happened to them. People will make fun of them and use their name as a curse.

19 This will happen to them because they did not obey the message that I kept on sending to them through my servants the prophets. They refused to listen.

Jeremiah 29:9-19 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. 29.102 Chronicles 36.21;Jeremiah 25.11;Daniel 9.2.
• 2. 29.13Deuteronomy 4.29+2Wisdom 6.12, 13.

Footnotes

• [a]. the future you hope for; [or] a future full of hope.