Bible Strands
Jeremiah 29:28
For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah addresses the Jewish exiles in Babylon to explain why he did not rebuke a false prophet. The false prophet had sent a letter to the community urging them to accept a prolonged stay in exile.
The words — אֲרֻכָּ֣ה ('a.ru.Kah) denotes a [long time] or lengthened duration, and שָלַ֥ח (sha.Lach) means he has sent. These terms anchor the false prophet's claim that the exile's duration justifies permanent settlement.
The thread — The command to build, settle, and plant recurs in Jeremiah 29:5 as God's actual instruction to the exiles. The letter's origin and seventy-year timeline are framed by Jeremiah 29:1 and Jeremiah 29:10.
Why it lands — The text records a human message that normalizes displacement and delays expectation of return. It requires readers to verify comfort-driven claims against the established boundaries of divine timing.
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
For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 29:5 “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.
- Jeremiah 29:1 This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 29:10 For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.