Jeremiah 29:24 (KJV)

Passage

Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 29:22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;

Jeremiah 29:23 Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 29:24 Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying,

Jeremiah 29:25 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

Jeremiah 29:26 The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "Because they have committed villany in Israel..." into verse 25's "Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts the...", so "thus" and "shalt" 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 "thus" and "shalt" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.