Jeremiah 29:24 (DRB)

Passage

And to Semeias the Nehelamite thou shalt say:

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 29:22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Juda, that are in Babylon, saying: The Lord make thee like Sedecias, and like Achab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire:

Jeremiah 29:23 Because they have acted folly in Israel, and have committed adultery with the wives of their friends, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I commanded them not: I am the judge and the witness, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 29:24 And to Semeias the Nehelamite thou shalt say:

Jeremiah 29:25 Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Because thou hast sent letters in thy name to all the people that are in Jerusalem, and to Sophonias the son of Maasias the priest, and to all the priests, saying:

Jeremiah 29:26 The Lord hath made thee priest instead of Joiada the priest, that thou shouldst be ruler in the house of the Lord, over every man that raveth and prophesieth, to put him in the stocks, and into prison.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "semeias", "nehelamite", "thou", and "shalt". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "semeias" and "nehelamite", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "Because they have acted folly in Israel..." into verse 25's "Thus saith the Lord of hosts the...", so "semeias" and "nehelamite" 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 "semeias" and "nehelamite" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.