1 And these are the words of the book which Jeremiah 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 Jechoniah the king and the queen, and the eunuchs, and every freeman, and bondman, and artificer, out of Jerusalem); 3 by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan, and Gemariah son of Hilkiah (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Babylon to Babylon), saying,

4 Thus said the Lord God of Israel concerning the captivity which I caused to be carried away from Jerusalem; 5 Build ye houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruits thereof; 6 and take ye 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. 7 And seek the peace of the land into which I have carried you captive, and ye shall pray to the Lord for the people: for in its peace ye shall have peace.

8 For thus saith the Lord; Let not the false prophets that are among you persuade you, and let not your diviners persuade you, and hearken not to your dreams which ye dream. 9 For they prophesy to you unrighteous words in my name; and I sent them not. 10 For 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. 11 And I will devise for you a device of peace, and not evil, to bestow upon you these good things. 12 And do ye pray to me, and I will hearken to you: and do ye earnestly seek me, and ye shall find me; 13 for ye shall seek me with your whole heart. 14 And I will appear to you: 15 whereas ye said, The Lord has appointed for us prophets in Babylon:

21 Thus saith the Lord concerning Ahab, and concerning Zedekiah; Behold, I will deliver them into the hands of the king of Babylon; and he shall smite them in your sight. 22 And they shall make of them a curse in all the captivity of Judah in Babylon, saying, The Lord do to thee as he did to Zedekiah, and as he did to Ahab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire; 23 because 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, saith the Lord.

24 And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou shalt say, 25 I sent thee not in my name: and to Zephaniah the priest the son of Maaseiah say thou, 26 The Lord has made thee priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, to be ruler in the house of the Lord over every prophet, and to every madman, and thou shalt put them in prison, and into the dungeon. 27 And now wherefore have ye reviled together Jeremiah of Anathoth, who prophesied to you? 28 Did 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 ye houses, and inhabit them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29 And Zephaniah read the book in the ears of Jeremiah.

30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, Since Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I sent him not, and he has made you to trust in iniquity, 32 therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will visit Shemaiah, 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.