Jeremiah Chapter 29

At a Glance

  • Jeremiah 29 is famous for a letter sent from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon, directing them in how to live within foreign soil while awaiting God’s promised restoration.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Jeremiah 29 sits at a crucial juncture after exile has begun.
  • - Purpose of exile: exile is not random punishment but a strategic period for sanctification and mission.
  • - Faithful presence in hostile spaces: living obediently in a pagan land becomes a witness.

CHAPTER REFERENCE

Chapter Overview

Jeremiah 29 is famous for a letter sent from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon, directing them in how to live within foreign soil while awaiting God’s promised restoration. This chapter reframes exile as a purposeful period of God-ordained transformation. The central command: settle in, build houses, plant gardens, marry, seek the welfare of the city (shalom) where you reside, and pray for it. The paradox is immediate: while God will eventually bring back his people after seventy years, the present moment is not a time for mere passive waiting but for proactive, faithful living within the conditions of exile. The chapter also warns against listening to false prophets who promise quick deliverance and urges discernment in other voices that claim divine authorization. The promise that God will hear prayer when his people search for him highlights a relationship-based approach to spiritual life that transcends comfort and national identity. The letter thus moves readers from protest to practical holiness—shalom-minded advocacy that seeks the city’s well-being as part of faithfulness to God.

Historical & Literary Context

Jeremiah 29 sits at a crucial juncture after exile has begun. The letter’s recipients are real people living in exile in Babylon, and the text blends epistolary form with prophetic instruction. The overarching frame is one of present obedience that looks toward future restoration. The insistence on remaining in exile, building lives, and praying for Babylon’s peace reveals a nuanced theology: God’s purposes include the welfare of nations and the spiritual formation of his people in the very places of exile. This chapter slot fits into the broader Jeremiah movement toward a hopeful future after judgment, forecasting a return and a renewed relationship with God. It also highlights the tension between genuine prophetic certainty and the diversity of voices within the community that claimed divine insight.

Key Themes

- Purpose of exile: exile is not random punishment but a strategic period for sanctification and mission.

- Faithful presence in hostile spaces: living obediently in a pagan land becomes a witness.

- Discernment against false hope: rejecting easy, false promises while embracing patient, faithful trust.

- Shalom as a holistic good: praying for and seeking the welfare of the city reflects divine priorities.

- Divine responsiveness: God invites prayer and promises to be found by those who seek him.

Modern Application

Jeremiah 29 challenges modern readers to rethink how we approach life in contexts that feel temporarily hostile or uncomfortable. It encourages disciplined patience—engaging in daily life, pursuing education, family, work, and community while staying rooted in faith. It reframes mission as costly presence: we are called to be a blessing where we are, not merely to escape toward spiritual safety. The chapter also prompts discernment: avoid wishful prophecies about quick fixes and false nostalgia for past national greatness. Instead, commit to the long arc of God’s restoration, which may require humility, cooperation with diverse neighbors, and steadfast prayer. Practically, this means fostering urban, cross-cultural, and social initiatives that promote justice, mercy, and peace, while grounding all activity in faithful dependence on God.

- Jeremiah 24 (the concept of exile as discipline and opportunity)

- Jeremiah 33:6-9 (the future restoration and peace)

- Jeremiah 51:24-26 (God’s ultimate judgment and restoration of nations)

- Daniel 9 (prayerful intercession and God’s determined plan)

Recommended Personas

- Jesus (for reframing exile as mission and neighbor-love)

- Paul (for gospel-within-culture in a non-native setting)

- Deborah (for courageous, wise leadership in complex times)

- Moses (for steadfast faith in challenging environments)

Chapter Text

1

Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;

2

(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

3

By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,

4

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;

5

Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

6

Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.

7

And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

8

For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.

9

For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.

10

For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

12

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

14

And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

15

Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon;

16

Know that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity;

17

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

18

And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them:

19

Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.

20

Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:

21

Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes;

22

And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

23

Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.

24

Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,

25

Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

26

The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.

27

Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you?

28

For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

29

And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

30

Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

31

Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:

32

Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD.

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