Jeremiah 29:4-23

4The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, sends this message to all the people of Judah who are in Babylon. He sent them there from Jerusalem as prisoners.

5He says, ‘Build houses for yourselves. Make Babylon your home. Plant gardens. Eat the food that grows in them.

6Marry, so that you have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons to marry. Let your daughters marry too. Then they also can give birth to sons and daughters. Your descendants should become more and more, not fewer.

7Work well to help the foreign place where I have sent you to live. Try to make it a successful place. Pray to the Lord that it will do well. If it does well, you will also do well.’

8Yes, the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says, ‘Some of the prophets and the other people use magic to tell you what will happen in the future. Do not let them deceive you with their lies. Do not listen to the dreams that they tell you about.

9They say that they are speaking with my authority. But the things that they prophesy are lies. I have not sent them to speak to you.’ That is what the Lord says.

10The Lord says, ‘You will live in Babylon for 70 years. Then I will choose to help you. I will be kind to you, as I promised. I will bring you back here to your home.

11I, the Lord, tell you this: I have decided what I will do for you. I have plans to help you to do well. I do not want to hurt you. I want to give you hope for a good life in the future.

12At that time, when you call out to me for help, I will hear your prayers.

13You will want to find me, and I will be ready to meet with you. If you really want to find me,

14I will be there for you.’ That is what the Lord says. ‘I will bring you back from the nations and all the places where I sent you as prisoners. You will no longer have to live in those foreign places.’

15You may say, ‘The Lord has chosen prophets to bring his message to us here in Babylon.’

16But listen to what the Lord says about the people who are still here in Jerusalem. The enemy did not take them with you as prisoners to Babylon. That includes the king who now rules David's kingdom.

17The Lord Almighty says, ‘I will send war, famine and disease to hurt them. They will be like bad figs that nobody can eat.

18I will use war, famine and disease to chase them away from their homes. I will send them to live among other nations. The people of all the nations in the world will see how disgusting they are. People will use their names as a curse. They will see how foolish they are and they will laugh at them.

19I will do that because they have not listened to my message. I sent my servants, the prophets, to speak to them many times, but the people in Jerusalem refused to listen.’ That is what the Lord says. The Lord also says, ‘You people of Judah who are now in Babylon have not listened to my message either.

20I sent you away from Jerusalem as prisoners to Babylon. All of you must also listen carefully to my message.’

21The Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says this about Kolaiah's son Ahab and Maaseiah's son Zedekiah: ‘They are speaking to you in my name, but they are prophesying lies. So I will put them under the power of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will kill them while you watch.

22They will be an example to the people of Judah who are now living in Babylon. When they want to curse someone, they will say, “May the Lord punish you in the same way that the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah and Ahab. He burned them to death in a fire!”

23That will happen to them because of the terrible sins that they have done in Israel. They have sex with the wives of their neighbours. They have used my name to tell lies. They have spoken messages that I did not command them to speak. I know what they have done because I have seen it all.’ That is what the Lord says.