‘Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.

All nations must serve him and his son and grandson ¹  until the time comes for his own nation to fall. ²  Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. ³ 

Then I said, ¹  “O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name ²  even though our sins speak out against us. ³  Indeed, ⁴  we have turned away from you many times. We have sinned against you.

For he has even sent a message to us here in Babylon. He wrote and told us, ¹  “You will be there a long time. Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat what they produce.”’” ² 

But Baruch son of Neriah is stirring you up against us. ¹  He wants to hand us over ²  to the Babylonians ³  so that they will kill us or carry us off into exile in Babylon.”

This will happen because ¹  the people of this city have aroused my anger and my wrath since the time they built it until now. ²  They have made me so angry that I am determined to remove ³  it from my sight.

They answered Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not do just as ¹  the Lord sends you to tell us to do.