Jeremiah's Letter to the Jews in Babylonia
1 I wrote a letter to the priests, the prophets, the leaders of the people, and to all the others whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia. 2 I wrote it after King Jehoiachin, his mother, the palace officials, the leaders of Judah and of Jerusalem, the engravers, and the skilled workers had been taken into exile. 3 I gave the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah was sending to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia. It said:
4 “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those people whom he allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia: 5 ‘Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what you grow in them. 6 Marry and have children. Then let your children get married, so that they also may have children. You must increase in numbers and not decrease. 7 Work for the good of the cities where I have made you go as prisoners. Pray to me on their behalf, because if they are prosperous, you will be prosperous too. 8 I, the Lord, the God of Israel, warn you not to let yourselves be deceived by the prophets who live among you or by any others who claim they can predict the future. Do not pay any attention to their dreams. 9 They are telling you lies in my name. I did not send them. I, the Lord Almighty, have spoken.’
10 “The Lord says, ‘When Babylonia's seventy years are over, I will show my concern for you and keep my promise to bring you back home. 11 I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. 12 Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you. 13 You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart. 14 Yes, I say, you will find me, and I will restore you to your land. I will gather you from every country and from every place to which I have scattered you, and I will bring you back to the land from which I had sent you away into exile. I, the Lord, have spoken.’
15 “You say that the Lord has given you prophets in Babylonia. 16 Listen to what the Lord says about the king who rules the kingdom that David ruled and about the people of this city, that is, your relatives who were not taken away as prisoners with you. 17 The Lord Almighty says, ‘I am bringing war, starvation, and disease on them, and I will make them like figs that are too rotten to be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with war, starvation, and disease, and all the nations of the world will be horrified at what they see. Everywhere I scatter them, people will be shocked and terrified at what has happened to them. People will make fun of them and use their name as a curse. 19 This will happen to them because they did not obey the message that I kept on sending to them through my servants the prophets. They refused to listen. 20 All of you whom I sent into exile in Babylonia, listen to what I, the Lord, say.’
21 “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, has spoken about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are telling you lies in his name. He has said that he will hand them over to the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, who will put them to death before your eyes. 22 When the people who were taken away as prisoners from Jerusalem to Babylonia want to bring a curse on someone, they will say, ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylonia roasted alive!’ 23 This will be their fate because they are guilty of terrible sins—they have committed adultery and have told lies in the Lord's name. This was against the Lord's will; he knows what they have done, and he is a witness against them. The Lord has spoken.”
The Letter of Shemaiah
24-25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, gave me a message for Shemaiah of Nehelam, who had sent a letter in his own name to all the people of Jerusalem and to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and to all the other priests. In this letter Shemaiah wrote to Zephaniah:
26 “The Lord made you a priest in place of Jehoiada, and you are now the chief officer in the Temple. It is your duty to see that every crazy person who pretends to be a prophet is placed in chains with an iron collar around the neck. 27 Why haven't you done this to Jeremiah of Anathoth, who has been speaking as a prophet to the people? 28 He must be stopped because he told the people in Babylonia that they would be prisoners there a long time and should build houses, settle down, plant gardens, and eat what they grow.”
29 Zephaniah read the letter to me, 30 and then the Lord told me 31-32 to send to all the prisoners in Babylon this message about Shemaiah: “I, the Lord, will punish Shemaiah and all of his descendants. I did not send him, but he spoke to you as if he were a prophet, and he made you believe lies. He will have no descendants among you. He will not live to see the good things that I am going to do for my people, because he told them to rebel against me. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
1 Now these are the wordes of the booke that Ieremiah the Prophet sent from Ierusalem vnto the residue of the Elders which were caryed away captiues, and to the Priestes, and to the Prophets, and to all the people whome Nebuchad-nezzar had caried away captiue from Ierusalem to Babel: 2 (After that Ieconiah the King, and the Queene, and the eunuches, the princes of Iudah, and of Ierusalem, and the workemen, and cunning men were departed from Ierusalem) 3 By the hand of Elasah the sonne of Shaphan and Gemariah the sonne of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah King of Iudah sent vnto Babel to Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel) saying, 4 Thus hath the Lord of hostes the God of Israel spoken vnto all that are caryed away captiues, whome I haue caused to be caryed away captiues from Ierusalem vnto Babel: 5 Buylde you houses to dwell in, and plant you gardens, and eate the fruites of them. 6 Take you wiues, and beget sonnes and daughters, and take wiues for your sonnes, and giue your daughters to husbands, that they may beare sonnes and daughters, that ye may bee increased there, and not diminished. 7 And seeke the prosperitie of the citie, whither I haue caused you to be caried away captiues, and pray vnto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall you haue peace. 8 For thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, Let not your prophets, and your southsayers that bee among you, deceiue you, neither giue eare to your dreames, which you dreame. 9 For they prophecie you a lie in my Name: I haue not sent them, saith the Lord. 10 But thus saith the Lord, That after seuentie yeeres be accomplished at Babel, I will visite you, and performe my good promise toward you, and cause you to returne to this place. 11 For I knowe the thoughtes, that I haue thought towards you, saith the Lord, euen the thoughtes of peace, and not of trouble, to giue you an ende, and your hope. 12 Then shall you crie vnto mee, and ye shall go and pray vnto me, and I will heare you, 13 And ye shall seeke mee and finde mee, because ye shall seeke mee with all your heart. 14 And I wil be found of you, saith the Lord, and I will turne away your captiuitie, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places, whither I haue cast you, saith the Lord, and will bring you againe vnto the place, whence I caused you to be caryed away captiue. 15 Because ye haue sayd, The Lord hath raised vs vp Prophets in Babel, 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord of the King, that sitteth vpon the throne of Dauid, and of all the people, that dwell in this citie, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captiuitie: 17 Euen thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Beholde, I will sende vpon them the sworde, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figges, that cannot bee eaten, they are so naughtie. 18 And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence: and I will make them a terror to all kingdomes of the earth, and a curse, and astonishment and an hissing, and a reproche among all the nations whither I haue cast them, 19 Because they haue not hearde my words, saith the Lord, which I sent vnto them by my seruantes the Prophetes, rising vp earely, and sending them, but yee woulde not heare, saith the Lord. 20 Heare ye therefore the word of the Lord all ye of the captiuitie, whome I haue sent from Ierusalem to Babel. 21 Thus saith the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, of Ahab the sonne of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the sonne of Maaseiah, which prophecie lyes vnto you in my Name, Beholde, I will deliuer them into the hande of Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel, and he shall slay them before your eyes. 22 And al they of the captiuitie of Iudah, that are in Babel, shall take vp this curse against them, and say, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whome the King of Babel burnt in the fire, 23 Because they haue committed vilenie in Israel, and haue committed adulterie with their neighbours wiues, and haue spoken lying words in my Name, which I haue not commanded them, euen I knowe it, and testifie it, saith the Lord. 24 Thou shalt also speake to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25 Thus speaketh the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy Name vnto all the people, that are at Ierusalem, and to Zephaniah the sonne of Maaseiah the Priest, and to all the Priests, saying, 26 The Lord hath made thee Priest for Iehoiada the Priest, that yee should bee officers in the House of the Lord, for euery man that raueth and maketh himselfe a Prophet, to put him in prison and in the stockes. 27 Nowe therefore why hast not thou reproued Ieremiah of Anathoth, which prophecieth vnto you? 28 For, for this cause hee sent vnto vs in Babel, saying, This captiuitie is long: buyld houses to dwell in, and plant gardens, and eate the fruites of them. 29 And Zephaniah the Priest red this letter in the eares of Ieremiah the Prophet. 30 Then came the worde of the Lord vnto Ieremiah, saying, 31 Send to all them of the captiuitie, saying, Thus saith the Lord of Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Because that Shemaiah hath prophecied vnto you, and I sent him not, and hee caused you to trust in a lye, 32 Therefore thus saieth the Lord, Behold, I wil visite Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seede: hee shall not haue a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he beholde the good, that I will doe for my people, sayth the Lord, because he hath spoken rebelliously against the Lord.