1Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah, the prophet, sent from Jerusalem to the surviving captive elders, priests, prophets, and people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried from Jerusalem to exile in Babylon 2(After King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths, had been exiled from Jerusalem), 3This letter was carried by Elasah, son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, son of Hilkiah (who were sent by Zedekiah, king of Judah, to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon), and it said: 4“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all whom I have caused to be carried away to Babylon as captives from Jerusalem, 5‘Build houses for you to live in; plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 6Take wives to yourselves, and have sons and daughters; and find wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may have sons and daughters, that you may increase, and not decrease, in number there. 7And work for the peace and prosperity of the city in which I have caused you to exiled; and pray unto the LORD for that city; for in its peace, you shall find peace. 8For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you, nor listen to their dreams. 9For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them”, says the LORD. 10“For thus says the LORD, ‘After seventy years of exile in Babylon, I will visit you, and fulfill My promise to return you to this place (Jerusalem). 11For I know the plans that I for you’, says the LORD, ‘Plans for you to prosper, and not for harm, to give you the future you hope for. 12Then you shall call upon Me, and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13And you shall seek and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart. 14And I will be found by you,’ says the LORD; ‘And I will return you from captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and all the places to which I have driven you’, says the LORD; ‘And I will return you to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive. 15Because you have said, “The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon, 16Know that this is what the LORD says about the king that sits upon the throne of David, and all the people that remain in this city (Jerusalem), and of your brethren that did not go out with you into captivity: 17‘Behold, I will send upon them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them like figs too vile to be eaten, they are so bad. 18And I will persecute them with the sword, famine, and disease, and will scatter them to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a reproach, among all the nations to which I will drive them, 19Because they have not listened to My words’, says the LORD, ‘Which I sent to them by My servants, the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear; nor would you exiles have listened, either’, says the LORD. 20‘Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, 21This is what the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab, son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in My name; “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon; and he shall put them to death before your very eyes; 22And all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon shall use this curse that says, ‘The LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23Because they have done terrible things in Israel, including adultery with their neighbors' wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I did not sanction. I, Myself, know, and am a witness to it, says the LORD.’”’”’”’

24Thus shall you also say to Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, 25‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26‘The LORD has appointed you priest instead of Jehoiada, the priest, that you should be in charge of the Temple of the LORD; that you should put every man that is mad, and acts like a prophet, in prison, and in the stocks; 27Why, then, have you not rebuked Jeremiah, of Anathoth, who says he is a prophet? 28For he sent messages to us in Babylon, saying, “This captivity will be long; build houses, and dwell in them; plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.”’”’” 29And Zephaniah, the priest, read this letter to Jeremiah, the prophet. 30Then came this word of the LORD to Jeremiah, 31“Send this message to all the exiles in captivity: ‘Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and he caused you to trust in lies, 32This is what the LORD says, ‘Behold, I will punish Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, and his descendants. Neither he nor they (his descendants) shall see the good things that I will do for My people,’ says the LORD, ‘Because he has taught rebellion against the LORD.’”’