1 Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests,
prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by
King Nebuchadnezzar. 2 This was after King Jehoiachin, the
queen mother, the court officials, the other officials of Judah, and
all the craftsmen and artisans had been deported from
Jerusalem. 3 He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and
Gemariah son of Hilkiah when they went to Babylon as King
Zedekiah’s ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar. This is what
4 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says
to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from
Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and
eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find
spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren.
Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and
prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to
the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”
8 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,
says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with
you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their
dreams, 9 because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not
sent them,” says the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy
years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I
have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the
plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and
not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days
when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly,
you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end
your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the
nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your
14 This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of
“For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon,
forcing the Babylonians to flee in those ships they are so proud
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator and King.
16 I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,
making a dry path through the sea.
17 I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19 For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
20 The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
the jackals and owls, too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
so my chosen people can be refreshed.
21 I have made Israel for myself,
and they will someday honor me before the whole world.
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will
reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that
future day when God will reveal who his children really
are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse.
But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when
it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and
decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in
the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we
believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within
us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be
released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for
the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted
children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were
given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have
something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to
something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven
and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also
gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home
is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be
his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear
from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or
crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making
everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for
what I tell you is trustworthy and true.
