Jeremiah 29:31 (LSB)

Passage

“Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,”

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 29:29 So Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet.

Jeremiah 29:30 Then came the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah, saying,

Jeremiah 29:31 “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,”

Jeremiah 29:32 therefore thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his seed; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares Yahweh, “because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh.”’”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "send", "exiles", "saying", "thus", "says", "yahweh", "concerning", and "shemaiah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "send" and "exiles", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "Then came the word of Yahweh to..." into verse 32's "therefore thus says Yahweh Behold I am...", so "send" and "exiles" 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 "send" and "exiles" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.