Jeremias 29

ARC · Chapter 29/52

1E estas são as palavras da carta que Jeremias, o propheta, enviou de Jerusalem, ao resto do captiveiro dos anciãos, como tambem aos sacerdotes, e aos prophetas, e a todo o povo que Nabucodonozor havia transportado de Jerusalem a Babylonia;

2Depois que sairam o rei Jechonias, e a rainha, e os eunuchos, e os principes de Judah e Jerusalem, e os carpinteiros e ferreiros de Jerusalem,

3Pela mão de Elasa, filho de Saphan, e de Gemarias, filho de Hilkias, os quaes enviou Zedekias, rei de Judah, a Babylonia, a Nabucodonozor, rei de Babylonia, dizendo:

4Assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos, o Deus d'Israel, a todos os que foram transportados, os quaes fiz transportar de Jerusalem para Babylonia:

5Edificae casas e habitae n'ellas; e plantae jardins, e comei o seu fructo.

6Tomae mulheres e gerae filhos e filhas, e tomae mulheres para vossos filhos, e dae vossas filhas a maridos, e parirão filhos e filhas; e multiplicae-vos ali, e não vos diminuaes.

7E procurae a paz da cidade, para onde vos fiz transportar, e orae por ella ao Senhor; porque na sua paz vós tereis paz.

8Porque assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos, o Deus d'Israel: Não vos enganem os vossos prophetas que estão no meio de vós, nem os vossos adivinhos, nem deis ouvidos aos vossos sonhos, que vós sonhaes:

9Porque elles vos prophetizam falsamente no meu nome: não os enviei, diz o Senhor.

10Porque assim diz o Senhor: Certamente que em se cumprindo setenta annos em Babylonia, vos visitarei, e continuarei sobre vós a minha boa palavra, tornando-vos a trazer a este logar.

11Porque eu bem sei os pensamentos que eu penso de vós, diz o Senhor; pensamentos de paz, e não de mal, para vos dar o fim que esperaes.

12Então me invocareis, e ireis, e orareis a mim, e eu vos ouvirei.

13E buscar-me-heis, e me achareis, quando me buscardes com todo o vosso coração.

14E serei achado de vós, diz o Senhor, e farei tornar os vossos captivos, e congregar-vos-hei de todas as nações, e de todos os logares para onde vos lancei, diz o Senhor, e tornarei a trazer-vos ao logar d'onde vos transportei.

15Porque dizeis: O Senhor nos levantou prophetas em Babylonia.

16Porque assim diz o Senhor ácerca do rei que se assenta no throno de David; e ácerca de todo o povo que habita n'esta cidade, a saber, de vossos irmãos, que não sairam comvosco para o captiveiro;

17Assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos: Eis que enviarei entre elles a espada, a fome e a peste, e fal-os-hei como a figos podres, que não se podem comer, de maus que são.

18E perseguil-os-hei com a espada, com a fome, e com a peste; dal-os-hei para servirem de commoção a todos os reinos da terra, como tambem por maldição, e por espanto, e por assobio, e por opprobrio entre toda sas nações para onde os lançar;

19Porquanto não deram ouvidos ás minhas palavras, diz o Senhor, enviando-lhes eu os meus servos, os prophetas, madrugando e enviando; porém vós não escutastes, diz o Senhor.

20Vós, pois, ouvi a palavra do Senhor, todos os do captiveiro que enviei de Jerusalem a Babylonia.

21Assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos, o Deus de Israel, ácerca de Ahab, filho de Colaias, e de Zedekias, filho de Maaseias, que vos prophetizam falsamente no meu nome: Eis que os entregarei na mão de Nabucodonozor, rei de Babylonia, e elle os ferirá diante dos vossos olhos.

22E tomarão d'elles uma maldição todos os transportados de Judah, que estão em Babylonia, dizendo: O Senhor te faça como Zedekias, e como Ahab, os quaes o rei de Babylonia assou no fogo

23Porquanto fizeram loucura em Israel, e commetteram adulterio com as mulheres de seus companheiros, e fallaram uma palavra no meu nome falsamente, que não lhes mandei, e eu o sei e sou testemunha d'isso, diz o Senhor.

24E a Shemaias, o nehelamita, fallarás, dizendo:

25Assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos, o Deus d'Israel, dizendo: Porquanto tu enviaste no teu nome cartas a todo o povo que está em Jerusalem, como tambem a Sofonias, filho de Maaseias, o sacerdote, e a todos os sacerdotes, dizendo:

26O Senhor te poz por sacerdote em logar de Joiada, o sacerdote, para que sejaes encarregados da casa do Senhor sobre todo o homem furioso, e que prophetiza, para o lançares na prisão e no tronco.

27Agora, pois, porque não reprehendeste a Jeremias, o anathotita, que prophetiza vos?

28Porque por isso nos mandou a nós a Babylonia, dizendo: Ainda o captiveiro muito ha de durar; edificae casas, e habitae n'ellas; e plantae jardins, e comei o seu fructo.

29E lera Sofonias, o sacerdote, esta carta aos ouvidos de Jeremias, o propheta.

30E veiu a palavra do Senhor a Jeremias, dizendo:

31Manda a todos os do captiveiro, dizendo: Assim diz o Senhor ácerca de Semaias, o nehelamita: Porquanto Semaias vos prophetizou, e eu não o enviei, e vos fez confiar em mentiras,

32Portanto assim diz o Senhor: Eis que visitarei a Semaias, o nehelamita, e a sua semente: elle não terá ninguem que habite entre este povo, e não verá o bem que hei de fazer ao meu povo, diz o Senhor, porquanto fallou rebellião contra o Senhor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jeremiah sends a letter to the exiles in Babylon advising them to build houses, plant crops, and seek the welfare of the city where they are, since the exile would last seventy years, but restoration would follow.

Explanation

This letter contains one of the most quoted verses in the entire Old Testament: 'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you... thoughts of peace, and not of evil' (v.11), often used today out of context as a general promise, but originally addressed specifically to the exiles suffering in Babylon. The practical advice to 'seek the peace of the city' where they were, even though it was a foreign and pagan land, was revolutionary: instead of resistance or despair, Jeremiah calls for constructive engagement with the present reality while awaiting the future promise. The chapter closes by denouncing false prophets who offered hope of a quick, unfounded return.

Fun facts

  • Verse 11 ('thoughts of peace, and not of evil') is today one of the most printed texts on Christian cards and decorations, even though its original context is specific comfort for suffering exiles, not a generic promise of personal comfort.
  • Jeremiah's actual letter to the exiles reflects a documented communication practice of the ancient world, with messengers carrying correspondence between Jerusalem and Babylon even during the exile.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 29:1A letter Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the Jews already exiled in Babylon — elders, priests, prophets, and common people Nebuchadnezzar had taken in the first wave of deportation.
  2. Jeremias 29:2It dates the letter shortly after the first deportation (597 BC), when King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah), the queen mother, the officials, and the craftsmen were taken away — there were still 11 years left before the final destruction of Jerusalem.
  3. Jeremias 29:3The letter traveled with an official delegation Zedekiah sent to Babylon, probably a routine diplomatic visit — Jeremiah used the messengers to send his own correspondence.
  4. Jeremias 29:4It makes clear that it was God Himself, not just Nebuchadnezzar, who sent the people into exile — a way of saying the deportation had a purpose, it was not just random misfortune.
  5. Jeremias 29:5Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles is shocking advice for people expecting a quick return: build houses, plant crops, marry off your children, and above all, pray for the peace of Babylon itself, the enemy city. It is a call to accept the exile as a long-term situation, not a temporary pause.
  6. Jeremias 29:6Shocking instruction for people expecting a quick return: marry, have children, grow in number right there in Babylon — a sign that the exile would last a whole generation, not months.
  7. Jeremias 29:7Praying for the peace of the city that enslaved them is the letter’s most surprising piece of advice: the exiles’ well-being depended on Babylon’s well-being, not on a rebellion against it.
  8. Jeremias 29:8A repeated warning against the false prophets who were also active among the exiles in Babylon, promising a quick end to the captivity — the same lie that was already circulating in Jerusalem.
  9. Jeremias 29:9God reinforces that these optimistic voices do not come from Him — that is why the exile will last as long as He Himself has already announced, not what the false prophets promise.
  10. Jeremias 29:10The seventy-year term appears again here, the same number from chapter 25, now addressed directly to the exiles. It is an approximate date to expect, stated against the urgency of the false prophets promising a return within a few years, as Hananiah had done.
  11. Jeremias 29:11“Thoughts of peace” is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible taken out of context, but in its original setting it was said to people who had been trapped far from home for decades, with no return in sight. The promise is of very long-term hope, not an immediate solution to a passing problem.
  12. Jeremias 29:12A promise conditioned on prayer: when the people finally cry out to God for real, He will listen — but that would come after accepting the reality of the exile, not as a shortcut to escape it.
  13. Jeremias 29:13Seeking God “with all your heart” is the condition repeatedly given in the Bible for reunion after estrangement — here applied specifically to the experience of exile.
  14. Jeremias 29:14The promise of return spells out what will happen: a gathering of the scattered from every nation they were driven to, not just from Babylon — a return greater than the immediate captivity suggests.
  15. Jeremias 29:15The people cling to the idea that God had raised up prophets in Babylon to confirm this — probably the optimistic voices of Ahab and Zedekiah mentioned next, whom Jeremiah is about to expose.
  16. Jeremias 29:16It changes the subject: it speaks of the fate of the king who stayed on the throne (Zedekiah) and of those not yet exiled in Jerusalem — they were not safe, the worst was still coming for them.
  17. Jeremias 29:17Those who stayed in Jerusalem will face the same triad of disasters — sword, famine, and plague — and will be compared to rotten figs, an image that echoes the vision in chapter 24 about the two baskets of figs.
  18. Jeremias 29:18The punishment includes becoming a byword of shame among the nations — a curse, a horror, an object of scorn — the complete opposite of the central place Jerusalem once held among its neighbors.
  19. Jeremias 29:19God repeats a recurring accusation in the book: He sent warnings through generation after generation of prophets, without stopping, and the people simply did not listen to any of them.
  20. Jeremias 29:20It turns back to address the exiles in Babylon directly before exposing the case of two false prophets active among them.
  21. Jeremias 29:21It names the guilty parties: Ahab and Zedekiah (common names, unrelated to King Ahab of Israel or King Zedekiah of Judah) were prophesying lies among the exiles and will die executed by Nebuchadnezzar.
  22. Jeremias 29:22The punishment of the two even becomes a popular saying among the exiles: “The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab,” the ones roasted alive by the Babylonian king — a severe penalty reserved for traitors.
  23. Jeremias 29:23The charge against them includes adultery with other exiles’ wives, on top of lying in God’s name — two betrayals of trust in the same person who claimed to be a prophet.
  24. Jeremias 29:24It introduces a third false prophet among the exiles, Shemaiah, from Nehelam, who reacted to Jeremiah’s letter by trying to silence him from a distance.
  25. Jeremias 29:25Shemaiah had written his own letters from Babylon to Jerusalem, including to the priest in charge of order in the temple — trying to use official authority against Jeremiah.
  26. Jeremias 29:26Shemaiah’s letter demanded that the priest arrest Jeremiah as a raving madman — the same kind of accusation the false prophets used against true prophets.
  27. Jeremias 29:27Shemaiah questions why Zephaniah still had not silenced Jeremiah, treating his prophecies as dangerous madness that needed to be contained.
  28. Jeremias 29:28The reason for Shemaiah’s irritation: Jeremiah had sent word for the exiles to settle permanently in Babylon, because the captivity would be long — the same instruction from the start of the chapter.
  29. Jeremias 29:29But instead of arresting Jeremiah, the priest Zephaniah read Shemaiah’s letter to him — a sign that not everyone in Jerusalem was on the side of the false prophets.
  30. Jeremias 29:30A transition formula: from here comes God’s answer specifically about Shemaiah’s case.
  31. Jeremias 29:31God tells Jeremiah to write back to the exiles publicly denouncing Shemaiah: he prophesied without being sent, and he even made the people trust a lie.
  32. Jeremias 29:32Shemaiah’s punishment is not seeing the restoration God promises: neither he nor his descendants will be part of the restored people, for having preached rebellion against God’s word.

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