Jeremiah 29:12 (DBY)

Passage

And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you;

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 29:10 For thus saith Jehovah: When seventy years shall be accomplished for Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in bringing you back to this place.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you in your latter end a hope.

Jeremiah 29:12 And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you;

Jeremiah 29:13 and ye shall seek me and find me, for ye shall search for me with all your heart,

Jeremiah 29:14 and I will be found of you, saith Jehovah. And I will turn your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith Jehovah; and I will bring you again into the place whence I have caused you to be carried away captive.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "call", "upon", "pray", and "hearken". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "call", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "For I know the thoughts that I..." into verse 13's "and ye shall seek me and find...", so "shall" and "call" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "call" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.