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Message
to the Exiles |
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| Jeremiah 29:1 |
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Now 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. |
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| Jeremiah 29:2 |
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(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.) |
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| Jeremiah 29:3 |
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The 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, |
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| Jeremiah 29:4 |
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"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,
to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, |
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| Jeremiah 29:5 |
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'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens
and eat their produce. |
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| Jeremiah 29:6 |
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'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. |
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| Jeremiah 29:7 |
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'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.' |
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| Jeremiah 29:8 |
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"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. |
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| Jeremiah 29:9 |
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'For they prophesy falsely to you in My name;
I have not sent them,' declares the LORD. |
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| Jeremiah 29:10 |
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"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. |
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| Jeremiah 29:11 |
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'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. |
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| Jeremiah 29:12 |
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'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray
to Me, and I will listen to you. |
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| Jeremiah 29:13 |
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'You will seek Me and find Me when you search
for Me with all your heart. |
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| Jeremiah 29:14 |
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'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.' |
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| Jeremiah 29:15 |
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"Because you have said, 'The LORD has raised
up prophets for us in Babylon'-- |
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| Jeremiah 29:16 |
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for 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-- |
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| Jeremiah 29:17 |
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thus 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. |
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| Jeremiah 29:18 |
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'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, |
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| Jeremiah 29:19 |
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because 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. |
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| Jeremiah 29:20 |
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"You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD,
all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. |
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| Jeremiah 29:21 |
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"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. |
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| Jeremiah 29:22 |
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'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, |
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| Jeremiah 29:23 |
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because 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.'" |
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| Jeremiah 29:24 |
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To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak,
saying, |
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| Jeremiah 29:25 |
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"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,
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| Jeremiah 29:26 |
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"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, |
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| Jeremiah 29:27 |
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now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah
of Anathoth who prophesies to you? |
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| Jeremiah 29:28 |
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"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.'"'" |
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| Jeremiah 29:29 |
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Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah
the prophet. |
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| Jeremiah 29:30 |
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Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah,
saying, |
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| Jeremiah 29:31 |
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"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," |
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| Jeremiah 29:32 |
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therefore 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."'" |
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