1 T hese are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the man of God sent from Jerusalem to the leaders, the religious leaders, the men of God, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

And these words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the remnant of the elders of the removal, and unto the priests, and unto the prophets, and unto all the people -- whom Nebuchadnezzar removed from Jerusalem to Babylon,

2 ( This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the king’s servants, the rulers of Judah and Jerusalem, and the able workmen had left Jerusalem.)

After the going forth of Jeconiah the king, and the mistress, and the officers, heads of Judah and Jerusalem, and the artificer, and the smith, from Jerusalem --

3 T he letter was sent with Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said,

By the hand of Eleasah son of Shaphan, and Gemariah son of Hilkijah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon -- to Babylon, saying,

4 “ This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says to all of His people who have been sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:

`Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, to all the removal that I removed from Jerusalem to Babylon,

5 ‘ Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their fruit.

Build ye houses, and abide; and plant ye gardens, and eat their fruit;

6 T ake wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters. And take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, that they may give birth to sons and daughters. Become many there, and do not let your number become less.

Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take for your sons wives, and your daughters give to husbands, and they bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and ye are not few;

7 W ork for the well-being of the city where I have sent you to and pray to the Lord for this. For if it is well with the city you live in, it will be well with you.’

And seek the peace of the city whither I have removed you, and pray for it unto Jehovah, for in its peace ye have peace.

8 F or the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, ‘Do not let the people among you who tell what is going to happen in the future and those who use their secret ways fool you. Do not listen to their dreams.

`For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, Let not your prophets who in your midst, and your diviners, lift you up, nor hearken ye unto their dreams, thay ye are causing to dream;

9 F or they speak false words to you in My name. I have not sent them,’ says the Lord.

For with falsehood they are prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, an affirmation of Jehovah.

10 “ For the Lord says, ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and keep My promise to you. I will bring you back to this place.

`For thus said Jehovah, Surely at the fulness of Babylon -- seventy years -- I inspect you, and have established towards you My good word, to bring you back unto this place.

11 F or I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope.

For I have known the thoughts that I am thinking towards you -- an affirmation of Jehovah; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give to you posterity and hope.

12 T hen you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

`And ye have called Me, and have gone, and have prayed unto Me, and I have hearkened unto you,

13 Y ou will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with all your heart.

And ye have sought Me, and have found, for ye seek Me with all your heart;

14 I will be found by you,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will bring you back and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have made you go,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you away.’

And I have been found of you -- an affirmation of Jehovah; and I have turned back your captivity, and have gathered you out of all the nations, and out of all the places whither I have driven you -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and I have brought you back unto the place whence I removed you.

15 “ You have said that the Lord has given men who speak for Him in Babylon.

`Because ye have said, Jehovah hath raised up to us prophets in Babylon,

16 T his is what the Lord says about the king who sits on the throne of David, and about all the people who live in this city, your brothers who were not taken with you to Babylon.

Surely thus said Jehovah concerning the king who is sitting on the throne of David, and concerning all the people that is dwelling in this city, your brethren who went not forth with you in the removal;

17 T he Lord of All says, ‘I am sending the sword, hunger, and disease upon them. I will make them like bad figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Lo, I am sending among them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I have given them up as figs that vile, that are not eaten for badness.

18 I will go after them with the sword, hunger, and disease, and will make them a cause of trouble to all the nations of the earth. They will be a curse, an object of much shame and hate among all the nations where I have made them go.

And I have pursued after them with sword, with famine, and with pestilence, and have given them for a trembling to all kingdoms of the earth, for a curse and for an astonishment, and for a hissing, and for a reproach among all the nations whither I have driven them,

19 T his is because they have not listened to My words,’ says the Lord, ‘which I sent to them again and again by My servants who spoke for Me. And you did not listen,’ says the Lord.

Because that they have not hearkened unto My words -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- that I sent unto them by My servants the prophets, rising early and sending, and ye hearkened not -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

20 S o hear the Word of the Lord, all you people who have been sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

`And ye, hear ye a word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity that I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon,

21 “ This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says about Ahab the son of Kolaiah and about Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are speaking false words to you in My name: ‘See, I will give them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will kill them in front of your eyes.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in My name falsehood: Lo, I am giving them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he hath smitten them before your eyes,

22 B ecause of them a curse will be used by all the people who are from Judah but are in Babylon: “May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.”

And taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with fire;

23 T his is because they have done what is foolish in Israel. They have done sex sins with their neighbors’ wives. And they have spoken false words in My name, which I did not tell them to speak. I am He Who knows, and I see what they have done,’ says the Lord.” The Letter to Shemaiah

Because that they have done folly in Israel, and commit adultery with the wives of their neighbours, and speak a word in My name falsely that I have not commanded them, and I He who knoweth and a witness -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

24 A nd say to Shemaiah the Nehelamite,

`And unto Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou dost speak, saying,

25 “ This is what the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the religious leader, and to all the religious leaders. You said to Zephaniah,

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, saying, Because that thou hast sent in thy name letters unto all the people who in Jerusalem, and unto Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and unto all the priests, saying,

26 “ The Lord has made you the religious leader over the house of the Lord instead of Jehoiada. You are to take every crazy man who says he speaks in God’s name and put him in chains with iron around his neck.

Jehovah hath made thee priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, for there being inspectors of the house of Jehovah, for every one mad and making himself a prophet, and thou hast put him unto the torture and unto the stocks.

27 S o why have you not spoken sharp words to Jeremiah of Anathoth who is speaking to you in God’s name?

And now, why hast thou not pushed against Jeremiah of Anathoth, who is making himself a prophet to you?

28 F or he has sent word to us in Babylon, saying, ‘You will be held there for a long time. So build houses and live in them. And plant gardens and eat their fruit.’”’”

Because that he hath sent unto us to Babylon, saying, It long, build ye houses, and abide; and plant ye gardens, and eat their fruit.'

29 Z ephaniah the religious leader read this letter to Jeremiah the man of God.

And Zephaniah the priest readeth this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

30 T hen the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,

31 “ Send word to all My people held in Babylon, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Shemaiah has spoken to you in My name, but I did not send him. He has made you trust in a lie.’

`Send unto all the removal, saying, Thus said Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Because that Shemaiah prophesied to you, and I -- I have not sent him, and he doth cause you to trust on falsehood,

32 S o the Lord says, ‘I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his children after him. He will not have anyone living among these people. And he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,’ says the Lord, ‘because he has spoken against Me.’”

Therefore, thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am seeing after Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and after his seed, he hath none dwelling in the midst of this people, nor doth he look on the good that I am doing to My people -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- for apostacy he hath spoken against Jehovah.'