Bible Strands
Jeremiah 29:25
this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD of Hosts speaks through Jeremiah to the exiles, addressing letters sent by Shemaiah the Nehelamite to Jerusalem’s people and specifically to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. This occurs during the Babylonian exile when competing prophetic voices were circulating among the displaced community.
The words — כֹּֽה־ (koh-) translates literally as "thus," marking the formal introduction of a divine oracle. יַ֡עַן (Ya.'an) means "because," providing the causal foundation for the accusations that follow in the immediate context.
The thread — Zephaniah appears in Jeremiah 29:29 when he reads the prophet’s response, in Jeremiah 37:3 when King Zedekiah sends him to consult Jeremiah, and in Jeremiah 52:24 when he is taken captive by the Babylonian captain of the guard. These references document his ongoing function as a priestly figure navigating the collapse of Judah.
Why it lands — The text records the exact mechanism of unauthorized correspondence and places it under divine scrutiny. It requires readers to test prophetic claims against the established messenger rather than accepting self-published messages as authoritative.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 29:29 (Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.)
- Jeremiah 37:3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the LORD our God for us!”
- Jeremiah 52:24 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- 1 Kings 21:8 Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.
- 2 Kings 10:1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying:
- 2 Kings 19:9 Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So Sennacherib again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,
- 2 Kings 19:14 So Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
- 2 Kings 25:18 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- 2 Chronicles 32:17 He also wrote letters mocking the LORD, the God of Israel, and saying against Him: “Just as the gods of the nations did not deliver their people from my hand, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver His people from my hand.”
- Ezra 4:7 And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.