Jeremiah 29:7 (GNV)

Passage

And seeke the prosperitie of the citie, whither I haue caused you to be caried away captiues, and pray vnto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall you haue peace.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 29:5 Buylde you houses to dwell in, and plant you gardens, and eate the fruites of them.

Jeremiah 29:6 Take you wiues, and beget sonnes and daughters, and take wiues for your sonnes, and giue your daughters to husbands, that they may beare sonnes and daughters, that ye may bee increased there, and not diminished.

Jeremiah 29:7 And seeke the prosperitie of the citie, whither I haue caused you to be caried away captiues, and pray vnto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall you haue peace.

Jeremiah 29:8 For thus saith the Lord of hostes the God of Israel, Let not your prophets, and your southsayers that bee among you, deceiue you, neither giue eare to your dreames, which you dreame.

Jeremiah 29:9 For they prophecie you a lie in my Name: I haue not sent them, saith the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "seeke", "prosperitie", "citie", "whither", "haue", "caused", "caried", and "away". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "seeke" and "prosperitie", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Take you wiues and beget sonnes and..." into verse 8's "For thus saith the Lord of hostes...", so "seeke" and "prosperitie" 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 "seeke" and "prosperitie" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.