Jeremiah 29

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to those who were left of theelders in exile, to the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had deported fromJerusalem to Babylon.	1 This is the contents of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, to the priests, the prophets, and all the people who were exiled by Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem to Babylon.
2 This was after King Jeconiah had left Jerusalem with the queen mother, the eunuchs, the chief men ofJudah and Jerusalem, and the blacksmiths and metalworkers.	2 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the courtiers, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans and the skilled workmen had left Jerusalem.
3 The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiahking of Judah had sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The letter said:	3 Delivered in Babylon by Elasah, son of Shaphan, and by Gemariah, son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to the king of Babylon, the letter read:
4 'Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this to al the exiles deported from Jerusalem to Babylon:	4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 Build houses, settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce;	5 Build houses to dwell in; plant gardens, and eat their fruits.
6 marry and have sons and daughters; choose wives for your sons, find husbands for your daughters sothat these can bear sons and daughters in their turn; you must increase there and not decrease.	6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters. There you must increase in number, not decrease.
7 Work for the good of the city to which I have exiled you; pray to Yahweh on its behalf, since on itswelfare yours depends.	7 Promote the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you; pray for it to the LORD, for upon its welfare depends your own.
8 For Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: Do not be deceived by the prophets who are withyou or by your diviners; do not listen to the dreams you have,	8 thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let yourselves be deceived by the prophets and diviners who are among you; do not listen to those among you who dream dreams.
9 since they prophesy lies to you in my name. I have not sent them, Yahweh declares.	9 For they prophesy lies to you in my name; I did not send them, says the LORD.
10 For Yahweh says this: When the seventy years granted to Babylon are over, I shal intervene on yourbehalf and fulfil my favourable promise to you by bringing you back to this place.	10 Thus says the LORD: Only after seventy years have elapsed for Babylon will I visit you and fulfill for you my promise to bring you back to this place.
11 Yes, I know what plans I have in mind for you, Yahweh declares, plans for peace, not for disaster, togive you a future and a hope.	11 For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.
12 When you cal to me and come and pray to me, I shal listen to you.	12 When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you.
13 When you search for me, you will find me; when you search wholeheartedly for me,	13 When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart,
14 I shal let you find me (Yahweh declares. I shal restore your fortunes and gather you in from al thenations and wherever I have driven you, Yahweh declares. I shal bring you back to the place from which I exiledyou).	14 you will find me with you, says the LORD, and I will change your lot; I will gather you together from all the nations and all the places to which I have banished you, says the LORD, and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you.
15 'Since you say: Yahweh has raised up prophets for us in Babylon-	15 As for your saying, "The LORD has raised up for us prophets here in Babylon"--
16 this is what Yahweh says about the king now occupying the throne of David and all the people living inthis city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile:	16 Thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on David's throne, and all the people who remain in this city, your brethren who did not go with you into exile;
17 Yahweh Sabaoth says this: I am now going to send them sword, famine and plague; I shal makethem like rotten figs, so bad as to be uneatable.	17 thus says the LORD of hosts: I am sending against them sword, famine and pestilence. I will make them like rotten figs, too bad to be eaten.
18 I shal pursue them with sword, famine and plague. I shall make them an object of terror to al thekingdoms of the earth, a curse, a thing of horror, scorn and derision to al the nations where I have driven them,	18 I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, of malediction, astonishment, ridicule, and reproach to all the nations among which I will banish them.
19 because they have refused to listen to my words, Yahweh declares, although I have persistently sentthem al my servants the prophets; but they would not listen, Yahweh declares.	19 For they did not listen to my words, says the LORD, though I kept sending them my servants the prophets, only to have them go unheeded, says the LORD.
20 But al you exiles, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, listen to Yahweh's word!	20 You, now, listen to the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 'This is what Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah son ofMaaseiah, who prophesy lies to you in my name: I shal hand them over now to Nebuchadnezzar king ofBabylon who wil put them to death before your very eyes.	21 This is what the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, has to say about those who prophesy lies to you in my name, Ahab, son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, son of Maaseiah: I am handing them over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who will slay them before your eyes.
22 This curse, based on their fate, wil be used by al the exiles of Judah in Babylon: May Yahweh treatyou like Zedekiah and Ahab, roasted alive by the king of Babylon,	22 All the exiles of Judah in Babylon will pattern a curse after them: "May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the flames."
23 because they have done a scandalous thing in Israel, committing adultery with their neighbour's wivesand speaking lying words in my name without orders from me. I know al the same and am witness to it, Yahwehdeclares.'	23 For they are criminals in Israel, committing adultery with their neighbors' wives, and alleging in my name things I did not command. I know, I am witness, says the LORD.
24 'And to Shemaiah of Nehelam you wil speak as fol ows:	24 Say this to Shemaiah, the Nehelamite:
25 Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says this: Since you, on your own initiative, have sent a letter to allthe people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah (and to al the priests), saying:	25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you sent letters on your own authority to all the people of Jerusalem, to all the priests and to Zephaniah, the priest, son of Maaseiah, with this message:
26 Yahweh has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada to keep order in the Temple ofYahweh, to put any crazy fel ow posing as a prophet in the stocks and col ar,	26 "The LORD has appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada, so that there may be police officers in the house of the LORD, to take action against all madmen and those who pose as prophets, by putting them into the stocks or the pillory.
27 why then have you not disciplined Jeremiah of Anathoth, now posing as a prophet to you?	27 Why, then, do you not rebuke Jeremiah of Anathoth who poses as a prophet among you?
28 Why, he has even sent us a message in Babylon, saying: It wil be a long time. Build houses, settledown; plant gardens and eat what they produce.'. . .	28 For he sent us in Babylon this message: It will be a long time; build houses to live in; plant gardens and eat their fruits. . . ."
29 (Now, after the priest Zephaniah had read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah),	29 When the priest Zephaniah read this letter to the prophet,
30 the word of Yahweh came then to Jeremiah as fol ows,	30 the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
31 'Send this message to al the exiles, "This is what Yahweh says about Shemaiah of Nehelam: SinceShemaiah has prophesied to you without my sending him, and since he has caused you to rely on what is false	31 Send the message to all the exiles: Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah, the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesies to you without a mission from me, and raises false confidence,
32 for that reason, Yahweh declares, I shal punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants; no malemember of his family wil survive among this people to see the happiness that I wil bestow on my people(Yahweh declares, since he has preached rebel ion against Yahweh)." '	32 says the LORD, I will therefore punish Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, and his offspring. None of them shall survive among this people to see the good I will do to this people, says the LORD, because he preached rebellion against the LORD.