1Jeremiah the prophet wrote this letter and sent it from Jerusalem to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, the prophets, and everyone else who had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

2This was after King Jehoiachin, the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metals-workers had been exiled from Jerusalem.

3Elasah, son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, son of Hilkiah, took the letter with them when Zedekiah king of Judah sent them to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. In the letter Jeremiah wrote:

4This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5Build yourselves houses there to live in. Plant gardens and grow food to eat.

6Get married and have children. Arrange for your children to get married so they can have children too. Increase in number, don't decrease.

7Help make the city where I've exiled you more prosperous. Pray to the Lord for it, since as it prospers, so will you.

8This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Don't be fooled by your prophets and fortune-tellers, and don't listen to any dreams they interpret for you.

9They are prophesying lies to you in my name; I have not sent them, declares the Lord.

10This is what the Lord says: When the seventy years exile in Babylon is over, I will see to you and keep my promise to bring you back to Jerusalem.

11I know what I intend to do for you, declares the Lord. I plan good things for you and not bad. I'm going to give you a future and a hope.

12Then you will call for my help, you will come and pray to me, and I will answer you.

13You will look for me and you will find me when you're completely committed to looking for me.

14I will let you find me, declares the Lord. I will end your captivity, gathering you from all the nations and places where I scattered you, declares the Lord. I will bring you back home to the place from where I sent you into exile.

15But if you argue, “The Lord has provided prophets for us in Babylon,”

16this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David's throne and everyone who's left in Jerusalem, your fellow citizens who weren't taken with you into exile.

17This is what the Lord Almighty says: I'm going to send war and famine and disease against them. I'll make them like rotten figs, so bad that they can't be eaten.

18I will chase them down with war and famine and disease. I will make all the kingdoms of the earth horrified by them. They will become a curse word, totally ruined, people to be mocked and criticized among all the nations where I scatter them.

19I'm going to do this because they haven't obeyed my words, declares the Lord, which I sent to them time and again through my servants the prophets. You exiles haven't obeyed me either, declares the Lord.

20So listen to the word of the Lord, all you exiles I sent from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21This is what the Lord Almighty, 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'm going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them right before your eyes.

22Because of what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah in Babylon will curse others like this: “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, burned alive by the king of Babylon!”

23They did outrageous things in Israel—they committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and told lies in my name. I didn't tell them to say anything. I am the one who knows what they did, and I can witness to it, declares the Lord.

24Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite

25that this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: On your own authority you sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying,

26“Zephaniah, ⁸⁷the Lord has chosen you as priest to replace Jehoiada, to be in charge of the Lord's Temple. In that capacity you are required to put in the stocks and neck irons any crazy person who claims to be a prophet.

27So why haven't you punished Jeremiah of Anathoth, who claims to be a prophet among you?

28You should have done this because ⁸⁸he has sent a letter to us here in Babylon, stating, ‘The exile will last a long time. So build yourselves houses there to live in. Plant gardens and grow food to eat.’”

29However, Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.

30Then the Lord told Jeremiah:

31Send this message to all the exiles: This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Since Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I didn't send him, and has convinced you to believe in a lie,

32this is what the Lord says: I'm going to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He won't have any family left among this people, and he won't experience the good things that I'm going to do for my people, declares the Lord, for he has promoted rebellion against the Lord.