| New American Standard Bible 1995 | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. | 1This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining exiled elders, the priests, the prophets, and all the people Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. |
| 2(This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) | 2This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had left Jerusalem. |
| 3The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, | 3He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The letter stated: |
| 4"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, | 4This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: |
| 5Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. | 5"Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. |
| 6'Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. | 6Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. |
| 7'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.' | 7Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive." |
| 8"For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. | 8For this is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Don't let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don't listen to the dreams you elicit from them, |
| 9'For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,' declares the LORD. | 9for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them." This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 10"For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. | 10For this is what the LORD says: "When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. |
| 11'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. | 11For I know the plans I have for you"--this is the LORD's declaration--"plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. |
| 12'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. | 12You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. |
| 13You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. | 13You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. |
| 14'I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.' | 14I will be found by you"--this is the LORD's declaration--"and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you"--this is the LORD's declaration. "I will restore you to the place from which I deported you." |
| 15"Because you have said, 'The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon '-- | 15You have said, "The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon!" |
| 16for thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile-- | 16But this is what the LORD says concerning the king sitting on David's throne and concerning all the people living in this city--that is, concerning your brothers who did not go with you into exile. |
| 17thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. | 17This is what the LORD of Armies says: "I am about to send sword, famine, and plague against them, and I will make them like rotten figs that are inedible because they are so bad. |
| 18'I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, | 18I will pursue them with sword, famine, and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth--a curse and a desolation, an object of scorn and a disgrace among all the nations where I have banished them. |
| 19because they have not listened to My words,' declares the LORD, 'which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,' declares the LORD. | 19I will do this because they have not listened to my words"--this is the LORD's declaration--"the words that I sent to them with my servants the prophets time and time again. And you too have not listened." This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 20"You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. | 20Hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon. |
| 21"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, 'Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes. | 21This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, the ones prophesying a lie to you in my name: "I am about to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes. |
| 22'Because of them a curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, "May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, | 22Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse that says, 'May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!' |
| 23because they have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness," declares the LORD.'" | 23because they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken in my name a lie, which I did not command them. I am he who knows, and I am a witness." This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 24To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, | 24To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you are to say, |
| 25"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, | 25"This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying, |
| 26"The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, | 26'The LORD has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to be the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, responsible for every madman who acts like a prophet. You must confine him in the stocks and an iron collar. |
| 27now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who prophesies to you? | 27So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who has been acting like a prophet among you? |
| 28"For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, 'The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.'"'" | 28For he has sent word to us in Babylon, claiming, "The exile will be long. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce."'" |
| 29Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet. | 29The priest Zephaniah read this letter in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah. |
| 30Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying, | 30Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: |
| 31"Send to all the exiles, saying, 'Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, "Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie," | 31"Send a message to all the exiles, saying, 'This is what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you trust a lie, |
| 32therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people," declares the LORD, "because he has preached rebellion against the LORD."'" | 32this is what the LORD says: I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. There will not be even one of his descendants living among these people, nor will any ever see the good that I will bring to my people--this is the LORD's declaration--for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.'" |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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