Jeremiah 29:24-29

B. A Letter from Babylon Jeremiah 29:24-29

TRANSLATION

(24) And concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall say, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have sent in your name letters unto all the people which are in Jerusalem and unto Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and unto all the priests, saying, The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be chief overseer of the house of the LORD for every mad man when he prophesies that you might place him in the stocks and the collar. (27) And now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah from Anathoth who is prophesying to you? (28) For he has sent unto us in Babylon, saying, It is long! Build houses and settle down and plant gardens that you may eat their fruit. (29) And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the presence of Jeremiah the prophet.

COMMENTS

The letter of Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon stirred up a great deal of hostility. One of the false prophets there, Shemaiah by name, sent letters to Jerusalem in an attempt to have Jeremiah silenced. In one letter Shemaiah urged Zephaniah, a leading priest in Jerusalem, to imitate his illustrious predecessor Jehoiada who had taken bold action in executing the idolatrous prophets (2 Kings 11:1-20). Shemaiah feels that action should be taken against the frenzied, mad prophets who were roving around the Temple area. Of course he has Jeremiah particularly in mind (Jeremiah 29:27). Jeremiah is regarded as a madman simply because he held a minority opinion with regard to the duration of the captivity (Jeremiah 29:28). It is to the credit of Zephaniah that he did not yield to the pressure which Shemaiah tried to bring against him. He seems to have been sympathetic towards Jeremiah and actually showed him the letter (Jeremiah 29:29).