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Jeremiah 29: A Letter to the Exiles

Jeremiah writes to those carried to Babylon, telling them to settle, seek the city's peace, and trust God's plans for a future and a hope.

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Jeremiah 29 (WEB)

1 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,

2 (after that Jeconiah the king, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths, had departed from Jerusalem),

3 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,

4 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, to all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5 Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit.

6 Take wives, and father 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 don’t be diminished.

7 Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you shall have peace.

8 For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Don’t let your prophets who are in your midst, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.

9 For they prophesy falsely to you in my name: I have not sent them, says Yahweh.

10 For thus says Yahweh, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.

12 You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

13 You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.

14 I will be found by you, says Yahweh, and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says Yahweh; and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive.

15 Because you have said, Yahweh has raised us up prophets in Babylon;

16 thus says Yahweh concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who haven’t gone with you into captivity;

17 thus says Yahweh of Armies; Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that can’t be eaten, they are so bad.

18 I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations where I have driven them;

19 because they have not listened to my words, says Yahweh, with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear, says Yahweh.

20 Hear therefore Yahweh’s word, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes;

22 and of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captives of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

23 because they have worked folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken words in my name falsely, which I didn’t command them; and I am he who knows, and am witness, says Yahweh.

24 Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying,

25 Thus speaks Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, saying, Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

26 Yahweh has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that there may be officers in Yahweh’s house, for every man who is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in the stocks and in shackles.

27 Now therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who makes himself a prophet to you,

28 because he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, The captivity is long: build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit?

29 Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

30 Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,

31 Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I didn’t send him, and he has caused you to trust in a lie;

32 therefore thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he see the good that I will do to my people, says Yahweh, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh.

Summary

Jeremiah sends a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and people already carried captive to Babylon. Against the false prophets who promise a quick return, God tells the exiles to settle in for the long stay: build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit, marry and raise families, and multiply rather than dwindle. Most strikingly, they are to seek the peace of the very city that holds them captive and to pray for it, for in its welfare they will find their own. He warns them not to be deceived by the diviners and dreamers among them. Then comes the great promise: after seventy years God will visit them and bring them home, for he knows the thoughts he thinks toward them, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give them hope and a future. When they call on him and seek him with all their heart, he will be found and will gather them from every place of exile. The letter also pronounces judgment on the lying prophets Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah, who have made the people trust falsehood. The chapter teaches God's people to live faithfully and hopefully in seasons of waiting.

Key Figures

  • Jeremiah — The prophet in Jerusalem who writes a pastoral letter urging the exiles to settle, seek peace, and trust God's long-range plan.
  • The exiles in Babylon — The elders, priests, and people carried from Jerusalem, told to build, plant, and pray for their captor city while awaiting God's promised return.
  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The God whose thoughts toward his people are peace, who promises a future and a hope and to be found by all who seek him with their whole heart.
  • Ahab, Zedekiah, and Shemaiah — False prophets among the exiles who prophesy lies in God's name and against whom God pronounces judgment.

Key Verse

Jeremiah 29:11 (WEB)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.

Lessons Learned

  • God calls us to live faithfully and fruitfully even in seasons of exile and waiting.
  • We are to seek the good of the places where God has put us, even when they are not home.
  • God's plans for his people are good, though they may unfold over years and not days.
  • God promises to be found by those who seek him with their whole heart.
  • Settle in and serve where God places you. "Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit" (Jeremiah 29:5, WEB). Faithfulness blooms even in exile.
  • Seek the welfare of your city. "Seek the peace of the city… for in its peace you shall have peace" (Jeremiah 29:7, WEB). God's people bless even the places that hold them.
  • God's plans are good and purposeful. "Thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11, WEB). His intentions toward his people are kind.
  • Wholehearted seeking finds God. "You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13, WEB).
  1. Why does God tell the exiles to build, plant, and settle rather than to expect a quick return?
  2. What does it mean to "seek the peace of the city" of one's captors, and how might that apply to us?
  3. Jeremiah 29:11 is often quoted alone. How does its setting among exiles deepen its meaning?
  4. What does it look like to seek God "with all your heart" in a season of waiting?
  5. Where has God placed you in a kind of "exile," and how might you live fruitfully and seek the good of that place?
  1. The exile would last seventy years, so denial and constant suitcase-packing would have been a kind of slow death. God calls them to live real, fruitful lives where they are (29:5-6). Faith does not put life on hold but trusts God within the present season.
  2. To seek the city's peace is to pray and work for the good of even those who hold you, because their welfare and yours are bound together (29:7). It teaches God's people to be a blessing in every place, not a withdrawn or resentful presence.
  3. The promise was given to people facing seventy years of captivity (29:10-11), so it is not a guarantee of ease but of God's steadfast, good purpose through long hardship. Seen this way, the verse is even richer: God is faithful across decades of waiting.
  4. Seeking with the whole heart means prayer, repentance, and trust that engage the whole person, not a divided or casual devotion (29:12-13). Encourage the group to consider what undivided seeking would look like in their own waiting seasons.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name a place of waiting or displacement and one way they could live fruitfully and bless others there. As leader, anchor the discussion in God's good, long-range plans for his people.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.