Jeremiah:29:1-23

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* And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the exiles , and to the priests , and to the prophets , and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon ; * (After king Jechonyah and the queen –mother , and the court –officers , the princes of Judah and Jerusalem , and the carpenters , and the locksmiths , were departed from Jerusalem ;) * By the hand of El ’assah the son of Shaphan , and Gemaryah the son of Chilkiyah , saying , * Thus hath said the Lord of hosts , the God of Israel , unto all the exiles , whom I have caused to be carried into exile from Jerusalem unto Babylon , * Build ye houses , and dwell therein ; and plant gardens , and eat their fruit ; * 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 multiply there , and not be diminished . * And seek the welfare of the city whither I have banished you , and pray in its behalf unto the Lord ; for in its welfare shall ye fare well . * For thus hath said the Lord of hosts , the God of Israel , Let not your prophets , that are in the midst of you , and your diviners , deceive you , and do not hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamt ; * For with falsehood do they prophesy unto you in my name : I have not sent them , saith the Lord . * For thus hath said the Lord , Because only after the accomplishment of seventy years for Babylon , will I visit you , and fulfill respecting you my good word , in causing you to return to this place . * For I alone know the thoughts that I entertain respecting you , saith the Lord , thoughts of peace , and not of evil , to give you a future and hope . * And you will call upon me , and ye will go and will pray unto me , and I will hearken unto you . * And ye will seek me , and shall find me , for ye will search for me with all your heart . * And I will be found of you , saith the Lord ; and I will bring back 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 cause you to return unto the place whence I have banished you . * Because ye have said , The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon . * But thus hath said the Lord concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David , and concerning all the people that dwell in this city , your brethren that are not gone forth with you into exile ; * Thus hath said the Lord of hosts , Behold , I will send out against them the sword , the famine , and the pestilence ; and I will render them like the detestable figs , that cannot be eaten , from being so bad . * And I will pursue after them with the sword , with the famine , and with the pestilence , and will make them a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth , a curse , and an astonishment , and a derision , and a disgrace , among all the nations whither I have driven them ; * For the reason that they have not hearkened to my words , saith the Lord , since I sent unto them my servants the prophets , causing them to rise up early and sending them ; but ye would not hear , saith the Lord . * But ye ––hear ye the word of the Lord , all ye exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon . * Thus hath said the Lord of hosts , the God of Israel , concerning Achab the son of Kolayah , and of Zedekiah the son of Ma ’asseyah , who prophesy unto you in my name falsehood , Behold , I will give them up into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon : and he shall smite them before your eyes . * And a curse shall be derived from them for all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon , saying , "May the Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Achab , whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire ;" * Because they have done scandalous deeds in Israel , and have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors , and have spoken in my name falsehood , which I had not commanded them ; whereas I am the one that know , and am the witness , saith the Lord .

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