Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the ancients that were carried into captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nabuchodonosor had carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
Jeremiah 29:1 Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the ancients that were carried into captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nabuchodonosor had carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
Jeremiah 29:2 After that Jechonias the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, and the princes of Juda, and of Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the engravers were departed out of Jerusalem:
Jeremiah 29:3 By the hand of Elasa the son of Saphan, and Gamarias the son of Helcias, whom Sedecias king of Juda sent to Babylon to Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, saying:
The verse centers on "words", "letter", "jeremiah", "prophet", "sent", "jerusalem", "residue", and "ancients". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "words" and "letter", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The next verse adds "After that Jechonias the king and the...", so "words" and "letter" should be read forward into that movement. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "words" and "letter" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.