1And these are the words of the book which Jeremias sent from Jerusalem to the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the false prophets, even an epistle to Babylon for the captivity, and to all the people;
2(after the departure of Jechonias the king and the queen, and the eunuchs, and every freeman, and bondman, and artificer, out of Jerusalem;)
3by the hand of Eleasan son of Saphan, and Gamarias son of Chelcias, (whom Sedekias king of Juda sent to the king of Babylon to Babylon) saying,
4Thus said the Lord God of Israel concerning the captivity which I caused to be carried away from Jerusalem;
5Build you° houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruits thereof;
6and take you° wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, and be multiplied, and be not diminished.
7And seek the peace of the land into which I have carried you captive, and you° shall pray to the Lord for the people: for in its peace you° shall have peace.
8For thus says the Lord; Let not the false prophets that are among you persuade you, and let not your diviners persuade you, and listen not to your dreams which you° dream.
9For they prophesy to you unrighteous words in my name; and I sent them not.
10For thus said the Lord; When seventy years shall be on the point of being accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and will confirm my words to you, to bring back your people to this place.
11And I will devise for you a device of peace, and not evil, to bestow upon you these good things.
12And do you° pray to me, and I will listen to you: and do you° earnestly seek me, and you° shall find me;
13for you° shall seek me with your whole heart.
14And I will appear to you:
15whereas you° said, The Lord has appointed for us prophets in Babylon:
21Thus says the Lord concerning Achiab, and concerning Sedekias; Behold, I will deliver them into the hands of the king of Babylon; and he shall strike them in your sight.
22And they shall make of them a curse in all the captivity of Juda in Babylon, saying, The Lord do to you as he did to Sedekias, and as he did to Achiab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire;
23because of the iniquity which they wrought in Israel, and because they committed adultery with the wives of their fellow-citizens; and spoke a word in my name, which I did not command them to speak, and I am witness, says the Lord.
24And to Samaeas the Aelamite you shall say,
25I sent you not in my name: and to Sophonias the priest the son of Maasaeas say you,
26The Lord has made you priest in the place of Jodae the priest, to be ruler in the house of the Lord over every prophet, and to every madman, and you shall put them in prison, and into the dungeon.
27And now therefore have you° reviled together Jeremias of Anathoth, who prophesied to you?
28Did he not send for this purpose? for in the course of this month he sent to you to Babylon, saying, It is far off: build you° houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
29And Sophonias read the book in the ears of Jeremias.
30Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying,
31Send to the captivity, saying, Thus says the Lord concerning Samaeas the Aelamite, Since Samaeas has prophesied to you, and I sent him not, and he has made you to trust in iniquity,
32therefore thus says the Lord; Behold, I will visit Samaeas, and his family: and there shall not be a man of them in the midst of you to see the good which I will do to you: they shall not see it.
