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Jeremiah 29

ירמיהו פרק כ״ט

Section: נביאים · נביאים אחרונים | Book: Jeremiah | Chapter: 29 of 52 | Day: 242 of 742

Date: October 11, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 29 is the letter of Yirmiyahu to the exiles (ספר הגולה), the only prophetic epistle preserved in full in the books of the prophets, and one of the most consequential documents in the history of the Jewish people. It is set in the early years of Tzidkiyahu, after the exile of Yechonyah in 597 BCE had carried off to Bavel the king, the queen mother, the courtiers, the officials of Yehudah and Yerushalayim, and the craftsmen and smiths. Metzudat David explains the last two as the artisans and the gatekeepers who were taken with them, in line with the account in Sefer Melachim. These deportees were the elite of the nation, and they had been led to believe, by prophets both in Yerushalayim and in Bavel, that their stay on the rivers of Bavel would be brief. The chapter that precedes this one recorded the clash between Yirmiyahu and Chananyah son of Azzur, who promised that within two years the vessels of the Temple and the exiles themselves would return. Chapter 29 carries that same struggle from the Temple courtyard in Yerushalayim to the exile community in Bavel, and it does so through the written word.

The letter travels in an official diplomatic pouch. It is carried by Elasah son of Shafan and Gemaryah son of Chilkiyahu, whom Tzidkiyahu was sending to Nevuchadnetzar, presumably to reassure the overlord of Judean loyalty. Once again the house of Shafan stands behind Yirmiyahu: in chapter 26 it was Achikam son of Shafan whose hand protected the prophet, and here his brother Elasah carries the prophet’s words to the exiles. The scribal family that read the newly discovered Torah scroll before Yoshiyahu now becomes the channel through which the word of God reaches those who have left the land. The superscription addresses the elders, the priests, the prophets and all the people; Metzudat David’s terse note on the phrase the remnant of the elders (יתר זקני הגולה) points to a distinction between the elders now in Bavel and those who remained in Yerushalayim.

The heart of the letter, in verses 5 through 7, is a set of instructions that sound almost domestic and yet overturned the theology of exile held by the people. Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit; take wives and beget sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands; multiply there and do not decrease. Metzudat David reads every clause as a message about time: dwell in them, because you will not leave Bavel soon; beget children, because you will still be there when they marry. Then comes the most startling sentence of all: seek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you (ודרשו את שלום העיר), and pray on its behalf to the LORD, for in its peace you will have peace. Metzudat David connects this directly to the Mishnah in Avot, pray for the welfare of the kingdom (הוי מתפלל בשלומה של מלכות), and Radak adds a careful qualification: as long as the exile lasts, the welfare of Bavel is your welfare, though in the end it would be the fall of Bavel that brought true peace by releasing them. With these words Yirmiyahu creates the possibility of Jewish life outside the land: a community that remains faithful to its God and its hope of return while building, marrying and praying for the welfare of a foreign state.

Against this vision the letter sets the false prophets and diviners (הנביאים והקוסמים) in the exile community. Do not let them deceive you, and do not listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamt (חלומותיכם אשר אתם מחלמים). Radak notes the grammatical oddity of the causative form and draws a psychological lesson from it: the dreams belong to the people, because if they did not want to hear such dreams, the dreamers would not dream them. False prophecy is here presented as a market phenomenon, supplied in response to demand. Rashi, for his part, glosses the verb ישיאו with the serpent’s deception of Chavah, linking the soothing words of the false prophets to the first seduction in human history.

The positive counterpart is the promise of verses 10 through 14. When seventy years are completed for Bavel (לפי מלאת לבבל שבעים שנה), I will remember you and establish My good word to return you to this place. The seventy years were already announced in chapter 25, and the commentators devote considerable effort to their calculation. Metzudat David counts from the first subjugation of Yehoyakim in the second year of Nevuchadnetzar, through the reigns of Evil-Merodach and Belshatzar, arriving at the first year of Darius and the decree of Koresh. Radak distinguishes two seventy-year periods: the visitation (פקידה) came with the rousing of the spirit of Koresh, seventy years after the rise of Bavel, while the rebuilding of the Temple waited until seventy years after the destruction of Yerushalayim. This distinction would occupy Daniel himself, who reads the books and counts the years in Daniel 9. The passage then reaches one of the most beloved verses in the book: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope (אחרית ותקוה). Metzudat David explains that the delay itself is for their good, since in exile their uncircumcised heart will be humbled, and that humbling will be the cause of the good end. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart; and Metzudat David’s long comment on verse 14 frames the whole purpose of the return as placing Israel back in the holy place, the place best prepared for divine service, to pray for the final and complete redemption.

Verses 16 through 20 turn back to those who remained in Yerushalayim, and they explain why no swift return is possible. The king who sits on the throne of David, Tzidkiyahu, as Rashi specifies, and the people left in the city will be struck by sword, famine and pestilence, made like the loathsome figs (התאנים השוערים) that cannot be eaten. The image recalls the vision of the two baskets of figs in chapter 24, a link Radak and Metzudat David both make explicitly. The exiles imagined that those left behind were the fortunate ones and that they themselves would soon rejoin them; Yirmiyahu tells them the reverse. Radak notes that the phrase you did not listen in verse 19 includes both groups: neither they nor you heeded My servants the prophets.

The second half of the chapter names names. Achav son of Kolayah and Tzidkiyahu son of Maaseyah, prophesying falsely in Bavel, will be handed to Nevuchadnetzar and roasted in fire (קלם באש), and their fate will become a curse formula among the exiles: may the LORD make you like Tzidkiyahu and like Achav. Their crime is twofold: they committed an outrage in Israel (נבלה בישראל), committing adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and they spoke lying words in God’s name. Rashi cites the account in Sanhedrin 93a of how these two used false prophecy to seduce women, and the verse closes with the solemn declaration: I am the One who knows and am witness (אנכי היודע ועד). Radak observes that the Ketiv here reverses the letters of the word, and that the shortened spelling of Achav’s name in verse 22 is a mark of disgrace.

Finally comes Shemayahu the Nechelami, whom Radak explains was so called because he dreamed dreams for the exiles promising a quick return, while Rashi takes the name as a place of origin. Shemayahu had written his own letters, in his own name alone, as Metzudat David stresses, to Tzefanyah son of Maaseyah the priest in Yerushalayim, reminding him that God had appointed him overseer of the Temple in place of Yehoyada to put every madman who plays the prophet (משגע ומתנבא) into the stocks and the collar, and demanding to know why Yirmiyahu of Anatot had not been rebuked. Radak notes the bitter irony that even those who rejected the true prophet still invoked God as the first cause of their authority, and that calling a prophet mad was a common term of scorn. Tzefanyah reads the letter to Yirmiyahu instead, and the word of the LORD answers with a sentence that echoes the fate of Chananyah in the preceding chapter: Shemayahu and his seed will have no one dwelling among this people, and he will not see the good that God will do for His people, because he spoke rebellion against the LORD (סרה דבר על ה’). The man who denied the return will not share in it. The chapter thus ends with the contrast that runs through it from beginning to end: the hard truth of a long exile, which carries within it a real future and hope, against the comfortable lie of a quick return, which leads only to ruin.

פרק כ״ט · Chapter 29

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ דִּבְרֵ֣י הַסֵּ֔פֶר אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁלַ֛ח יִרְמְיָ֥ה הַנָּבִ֖יא מִירוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם אֶל־יֶ֜תֶר זִקְנֵ֣י הַגּוֹלָ֗ה וְאֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֤ים וְאֶל־הַנְּבִיאִים֙ וְאֶל־כׇּל־הָעָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֶגְלָ֧ה נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּ֛ר מִירוּשָׁלַ֖͏ִם בָּבֶֽלָה׃

English:

This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the priests, the prophets, the rest of the elders of the exile community, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon—

The chapter opens by presenting the text of a letter (ספר) that Yirmiyahu sent from Yerushalayim to the exiles in Bavel, addressed to the elders, the priests, the prophets and all the people deported by Nevuchadnetzar. Metzudat David's brief note on the remnant of the elders distinguishes them from the elders who remained in Yerushalayim. This is the only full prophetic epistle preserved in the Nevi'im, and it carries Yirmiyahu's struggle with false hope from Yerushalayim to the diaspora.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

אַחֲרֵ֣י צֵ֣את יְכׇנְיָֽה־הַ֠מֶּ֠לֶךְ וְהַגְּבִירָ֨ה וְהַסָּרִיסִ֜ים שָׂרֵ֨י יְהוּדָ֧ה וִירוּשָׁלַ֛͏ִם וְהֶחָרָ֥שׁ וְהַמַּסְגֵּ֖ר מִירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

English:

after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, and the artisans and smiths had left Jerusalem.

The letter is dated by the exile of King Yechonyah together with the queen mother, the courtiers, the officers of Yehudah and Yerushalayim, and the craftsmen and smiths. Rashi and Radak identify the gevirah as the king's mother, and Metzudat David explains the craftsmen and smiths, following Targum Yonatan, as the artisans and the gatekeepers. These were the leadership and skilled class of the nation, now living in Bavel.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
והגבירה. אם המלך:
and the queen mother The mother of the king.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

בְּיַד֙ אֶלְעָשָׂ֣ה בֶן־שָׁפָ֔ן וּגְמַרְיָ֖ה בֶּן־חִלְקִיָּ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר שָׁלַ֜ח צִדְקִיָּ֣ה מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֗ה אֶל־נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּ֛ר מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶ֖ל בָּבֶ֥לָה לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

[The letter was sent] through Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah had dispatched to Babylon, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

The letter is carried by Elasah son of Shafan and Gemaryah son of Chilkiyahu, envoys whom Tzidkiyahu was sending to Nevuchadnetzar. Metzudat David explains that the prophet used this diplomatic mission to deliver his letter, and Radak notes that Elasah is one word. Once again the house of Shafan stands behind Yirmiyahu, as Achikam son of Shafan did in chapter 26, making itself the channel for the prophet's words.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהֹוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְכׇ֨ל־הַגּוֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־הִגְלֵ֥יתִי מִירוּשָׁלַ֖͏ִם בָּבֶֽלָה׃

English:

Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to the whole community that I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon:

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

בְּנ֥וּ בָתִּ֖ים וְשֵׁ֑בוּ וְנִטְע֣וּ גַנּ֔וֹת וְאִכְל֖וּ אֶת־פִּרְיָֽן׃

English:

Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit.

The first instruction is startlingly practical: build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their fruit. Metzudat David explains that the point of dwelling is permanence, since they will not leave Bavel within a short time. Building and planting are long-term investments, and by commanding them Yirmiyahu tells the exiles to stop living out of their bags and to settle in for a long stay.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

קְח֣וּ נָשִׁ֗ים וְהוֹלִ֘ידוּ֮ בָּנִ֣ים וּבָנוֹת֒ וּקְח֨וּ לִבְנֵיכֶ֜ם נָשִׁ֗ים וְאֶת־בְּנֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ תְּנ֣וּ לַאֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְתֵלַ֖דְנָה בָּנִ֣ים וּבָנ֑וֹת וּרְבוּ־שָׁ֖ם וְאַל־תִּמְעָֽטוּ׃

English:

You should take wives and beget sons and daughters; and you should take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there, do not decrease.

The exiles are told to marry, bear children, and arrange marriages for their sons and daughters, so that they multiply there and do not decrease. Metzudat David reads the doubled language as emphasis: they must not refrain from marrying, for if the older generation dies without children the community will dwindle. The command spans three generations, implicitly announcing that the exile will last until grandchildren are born in Bavel.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וְדִרְשׁ֞וּ אֶת־שְׁל֣וֹם הָעִ֗יר אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגְלֵ֤יתִי אֶתְכֶם֙ שָׁ֔מָּה וְהִתְפַּֽלְל֥וּ בַעֲדָ֖הּ אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה כִּ֣י בִשְׁלוֹמָ֔הּ יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶ֖ם שָׁלֽוֹם׃

English:

And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to GOD in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper.

The most revolutionary verse in the letter: seek the peace of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its peace you will have peace. Metzudat David links it to the Mishnah's teaching to pray for the welfare of the kingdom. Radak adds a limit: this holds while the exile lasts, though ultimately the fall of Bavel brought them greater peace by releasing them.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

כִּי֩ כֹ֨ה אָמַ֜ר יְהֹוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אַל־יַשִּׁ֧יאוּ לָכֶ֛ם נְבִיאֵיכֶ֥ם אֲשֶׁר־בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֖ם וְקֹסְמֵיכֶ֑ם וְאַֽל־תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־חֲלֹמֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתֶּ֖ם מַחְלְמִֽים׃

English:

For thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Let not the prophets and diviners in your midst deceive you, and pay no heed to the dreams they dream.

The exiles are warned not to be deceived by the prophets and diviners among them or by the dreams they solicit. Rashi glosses the verb as enticement, comparing the serpent who misled Chavah. Radak explains the causative form: the people make the dreamers dream, since if no one wanted such dreams none would be dreamed. Metzudat David notes that the false message was a quick return to Yerushalayim.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ישיאו. ל' הסתה כמו הנחש השיאני (בראשית ג):
mislead An expression of enticing. Cf: "The snake misled me (הִֹשִיאַנִי)" (Gen. 3:13).

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

כִּ֣י בְשֶׁ֔קֶר הֵ֛ם נִבְּאִ֥ים לָכֶ֖ם בִּשְׁמִ֑י לֹ֥א שְׁלַחְתִּ֖ים נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}         

English:

For they prophesy to you in My name falsely; I did not send them—declares GOD.

The reason is given briefly and absolutely: they prophesy falsely in My name, and I did not send them. Metzudat David explains that whatever they say in God's name is a lie, precisely because they were never sent. The phrase echoes Yirmiyahu's words against Chananyah in the previous chapter and recurs throughout this letter, making the question of who is truly sent the axis of the whole chapter.

פסוק י׳ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

כִּֽי־כֹה֙ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה כִּ֠י לְפִ֞י מְלֹ֧את לְבָבֶ֛ל שִׁבְעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה אֶפְקֹ֣ד אֶתְכֶ֑ם וַהֲקִמֹתִ֤י עֲלֵיכֶם֙ אֶת־דְּבָרִ֣י הַטּ֔וֹב לְהָשִׁ֣יב אֶתְכֶ֔ם אֶל־הַמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

For thus said GOD: When Babylon’s seventy years are over, I will take note of you, and I will fulfill to you My promise of favor—to bring you back to this place.

Here is the positive timetable: when seventy years are completed for Bavel, God will remember the exiles and fulfil His good word to return them. Metzudat David calculates the years from Yehoyakim's first subjugation through the reigns of Evil-Merodach and Belshatzar to the decree of Koresh. Radak distinguishes the visitation, seventy years after Bavel's rise, from the rebuilding of the Temple, seventy years after Yerushalayim's destruction.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

כִּי֩ אָנֹכִ֨י יָדַ֜עְתִּי אֶת־הַמַּחֲשָׁבֹ֗ת אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י חֹשֵׁ֥ב עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה מַחְשְׁב֤וֹת שָׁלוֹם֙ וְלֹ֣א לְרָעָ֔ה לָתֵ֥ת לָכֶ֖ם אַחֲרִ֥ית וְתִקְוָֽה׃

English:

For I am mindful of the plans I have made concerning you—declares GOD—plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a hopeful future.

One of the most beloved verses in the book: God knows the thoughts He thinks toward His people, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give them a future and a hope (אחרית ותקוה). Metzudat David explains that the long exile itself is for their good, since it will humble their uncircumcised heart and so bring about a good end. Radak reads the future as the good outcome they are hoping for.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וּקְרָאתֶ֤ם אֹתִי֙ וַֽהֲלַכְתֶּ֔ם וְהִתְפַּלַּלְתֶּ֖ם אֵלָ֑י וְשָׁמַעְתִּ֖י אֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

When you call Me, and come and pray to Me, I will give heed to you.

When the people call to God, walk and pray to Him, He will hear them. Rashi and Radak both explain that the verb walk is elliptical, meaning to walk in God's ways. Metzudat David places this prayer after the return, when the humbled people stand again in the holy place, best suited for divine service, and pray for the gathering of all the exiles from every place.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וקראתם אותי והלכתם. בדרכי והרי זה מקרא קצר:
And you shall call Me and go In My ways. This is an ellipsis.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּ֥ם אֹתִ֖י וּמְצָאתֶ֑ם כִּ֥י תִדְרְשֻׁ֖נִי בְּכׇל־לְבַבְכֶֽם׃

English:

You will search for Me and find Me, if only you seek Me wholeheartedly.

You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Metzudat David explains the verse simply: God will be found when He is sought with a whole heart. The emphasis falls on sincerity rather than location; the condition for redemption is a wholehearted return, which is exactly what the humbling experience of exile is meant to produce in the people.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וְנִמְצֵ֣אתִי לָכֶם֮ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה֒ וְשַׁבְתִּ֣י אֶת־[שְׁבוּתְכֶ֗ם] (שביתכם) וְקִבַּצְתִּ֣י אֶ֠תְכֶ֠ם מִֽכׇּל־הַגּוֹיִ֞ם וּמִכׇּל־הַמְּקוֹמ֗וֹת אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִדַּ֧חְתִּי אֶתְכֶ֛ם שָׁ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֔ם אֶ֨ל־הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁר־הִגְלֵ֥יתִי אֶתְכֶ֖ם מִשָּֽׁם׃

English:

I will be at hand for you—declares GOD—and I will restore your fortunes. And I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places to which I have banished you—declares GOD—and I will bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you.

God promises to be found, to restore the captivity, and to gather the people from all the nations and places of banishment back to the place from which they were exiled. Metzudat David explains that the return from Bavel is not an end in itself; its purpose is to bring Israel to the holy place to pray for the final and complete redemption, and so a delay that humbles them is truly for their good.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

כִּ֖י אֲמַרְתֶּ֑ם הֵקִ֨ים לָ֧נוּ יְהֹוָ֛ה נְבִאִ֖ים בָּבֶֽלָה׃ {ס}         

English:

But you say, “GOD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon.”

The letter anticipates the people's objection: but the LORD has raised up prophets for us in Bavel. Metzudat David and Radak both explain that these prophets were promising an imminent return, and Radak insists that the true word is the seventy years, while their prophecies amount to nothing. He also cites the Targum, which calls them teachers rather than prophets, refusing to grant them the prophetic title.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

כִּי־כֹ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה אֶל־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הַיּוֹשֵׁב֙ אֶל־כִּסֵּ֣א דָוִ֔ד וְאֶ֨ל־כׇּל־הָעָ֔ם הַיּוֹשֵׁ֖ב בָּעִ֣יר הַזֹּ֑את אֲחֵיכֶ֕ם אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹֽא־יָצְא֥וּ אִתְּכֶ֖ם בַּגּוֹלָֽה׃ {ס}         

English:

Thus said GOD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsfolk who did not go out with you into exile—

The focus shifts to the king who sits on the throne of David and to the people still in Yerushalayim, the exiles' brothers who did not go out with them. Rashi identifies the king as Tzidkiyahu, who had not yet been exiled. Metzudat David explains the connection: the false prophets do not speak truth, because God's word concerns those who remain behind, and it is a word of judgment rather than restoration.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אל המלך. צדקיהו אשר לא גלה:
concerning the king Zedekiah, who has not been exiled.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת הִנְנִי֙ מְשַׁלֵּ֣חַ בָּ֔ם אֶת־הַחֶ֖רֶב אֶת־הָרָעָ֣ב וְאֶת־הַדָּ֑בֶר וְנָתַתִּ֣י אוֹתָ֗ם כַּתְּאֵנִים֙ הַשֹּׁ֣עָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תֵאָכַ֖לְנָה מֵרֹֽעַ׃

English:

thus said GOD of Hosts: I am going to let loose sword, famine, and pestilence against them and I will treat them as loathsome figs, so bad that they cannot be eaten.

Sword, famine and pestilence will be sent against those left in Yerushalayim, and they will be made like loathsome figs too bad to be eaten. Rashi and Radak derive the rare word shoarim from shaaruriyah, a disgraceful thing. Metzudat David and Radak both connect the image to the vision of the two baskets of figs in chapter 24, and Metzudat David asks how the exiles could return quickly when even those at home will fall.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
כתאנים השוערים. ל' שערוריה (הושע ו):
as the loathsome figs Heb. הַֹשֹּעָרִים, an expression of, ֹשַעֲרוּרִיָּה, "a disgraceful thing" (Hos. 6:10).

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וְרָֽדַפְתִּי֙ אַֽחֲרֵיהֶ֔ם בַּחֶ֖רֶב בָּרָעָ֣ב וּבַדָּ֑בֶר וּנְתַתִּ֨ים (לזועה) [לְזַעֲוָ֜ה] לְכֹ֣ל ׀ מַמְלְכ֣וֹת הָאָ֗רֶץ לְאָלָ֤ה וּלְשַׁמָּה֙ וְלִשְׁרֵקָ֣ה וּלְחֶרְפָּ֔ה בְּכׇל־הַגּוֹיִ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־הִדַּחְתִּ֥ים שָֽׁם׃

English:

I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, an execration and an object of horror and hissing and scorn among all the nations to which I shall banish them,

God will pursue them with sword, famine and pestilence and make them a horror, a curse, an astonishment, a hissing and a reproach among the nations. Metzudat David explains each term: others will swear by their misfortune, wonder at their ruin, hiss at its scale and taunt them. Radak and Metzudat David both note that the past tense I have banished stands for the future, since the remnant had not yet been exiled.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ולחרפה. שיחרפו אותם דשטרווי"ר בלע"ז וכן כל חרפה שבמקרא:
and for a reproach That they will reproach them, and so is every expression of ירפה in Scripture.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

תַּ֛חַת אֲשֶֽׁר־לֹא־שָׁמְע֥וּ אֶל־דְּבָרַ֖י נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה אֲשֶׁר֩ שָׁלַ֨חְתִּי אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם אֶת־עֲבָדַ֤י הַנְּבִאִים֙ הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם וְשָׁלֹ֔חַ וְלֹ֥א שְׁמַעְתֶּ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

because they did not heed My words—declares GOD—when I persistently sent to them My servants, the prophets, and they did not heed—declares GOD.

The cause is stated: they did not listen to God's words, though He sent His servants the prophets early and persistently. Metzudat David notes the zeal implied by rising early and sending, and observes that the shift to you did not listen speaks as though addressing the inhabitants of Yerushalayim directly. Radak reads it as including both groups: neither they nor you have listened.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וְאַתֶּ֖ם שִׁמְע֣וּ דְבַר־יְהֹוָ֑ה כׇּ֨ל־הַגּוֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־שִׁלַּ֥חְתִּי מִירוּשָׁלַ֖͏ִם בָּבֶֽלָה׃ {ס}         

English:

But you, the whole exile community that I banished from Jerusalem to Babylon, hear the word of GOD!

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

כֹּֽה־אָמַר֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה צְבָא֜וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֶל־אַחְאָ֤ב בֶּן־קֽוֹלָיָה֙ וְאֶל־צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּ בֶן־מַֽעֲשֵׂיָ֔ה הַֽנִּבְּאִ֥ים לָכֶ֛ם בִּשְׁמִ֖י שָׁ֑קֶר הִנְנִ֣י ׀ נֹתֵ֣ן אֹתָ֗ם בְּיַד֙ נְבֽוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֣ר מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֔ל וְהִכָּ֖ם לְעֵינֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who prophesy falsely to you in My name: I am going to deliver them into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and he shall put them to death before your eyes.

The letter now names two false prophets in Bavel: Achav son of Kolayah and Tzidkiyahu son of Maaseyah, who prophesy falsely in God's name. They will be handed over to Nevuchadnetzar, who will strike them before the exiles' eyes. Metzudat David explains that falsehood means words God never commanded and that striking here means putting to death. The general warning of verse 8 now becomes concrete and personal.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וְלֻקַּ֤ח מֵהֶם֙ קְלָלָ֔ה לְכֹל֙ גָּל֣וּת יְהוּדָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּבָבֶ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר יְשִֽׂמְךָ֤ יְהֹוָה֙ כְּצִדְקִיָּ֣הוּ וּכְאֶחָ֔ב אֲשֶׁר־קָלָ֥ם מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֖ל בָּאֵֽשׁ׃

English:

And the whole community of Judah in Babylonia shall use a curse derived from their fate: “May God make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon consigned to the flames!”—

Their execution will become a curse formula among the exiles: may the LORD make you like Tzidkiyahu and Achav, whom the king of Bavel roasted in fire. Rashi and Radak connect the verb to roasted in fire, and Metzudat David explains that people would use it in their curses. Radak also notes that Achav's name is spelled defectively here as a mark of disgrace.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אשר קלם. לשון קלוי באש (ויקרא ב):
whom...burnt an expression of "roasted with fire" (Lev. 2:14).

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

יַ֡עַן אֲשֶׁר֩ עָשׂ֨וּ נְבָלָ֜ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וַיְנַֽאֲפוּ֙ אֶת־נְשֵׁ֣י רֵֽעֵיהֶ֔ם וַיְדַבְּר֨וּ דָבָ֤ר בִּשְׁמִי֙ שֶׁ֔קֶר אֲשֶׁ֖ר ל֣וֹא צִוִּיתִ֑ם וְאָנֹכִ֛י (הוידע) [הַיּוֹדֵ֥עַ] וָעֵ֖ד נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃ {ס}         

English:

because they did vile things in Israel, committing adultery with the wives of their fellows and speaking in My name false words that I had not commanded them. I am the One who knows and bears witness—declares GOD.

Their crimes are twofold: outrage in Israel through adultery with their neighbors' wives, and false words spoken in God's name. Rashi cites Sanhedrin 93a, where these men used fabricated prophecies to seduce women. God declares that He is the One who knows and bears witness. Metzudat David explains He knows their lies and saw their adultery, and Radak notes the Ketiv's reversed letters in the word for knows.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וינאפו את נשי רעיהם. כמו שמפורש בסנהדרין כה אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא שכבי עם חבירי: ועד. לשון עדות:
and they committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors As is explained in Sanhedrin (93a), "So said the Holy One, blessed be He, 'Lie with my friend.'" and a witness an expression of testimony (עֵדוּת).

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וְאֶל־שְׁמַעְיָ֥הוּ הַנֶּחֱלָמִ֖י תֹּאמַ֥ר לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall say:

A new section of the letter addresses Shemayahu the Nechelami. Rashi takes Nechelami as the name of a place, while Radak explains it as a nickname for one who dreamed dreams for the exiles promising a quick return to Yerushalayim, citing the Targum. Metzudat David notes that this too belongs to the letter Yirmiyahu sent to Bavel, conveying what God told him to say about Shemayahu.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
הנחלמי. שם מקום:
the Nehelamite A place name.

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר יְהֹוָ֧ה צְבָא֛וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר יַ֡עַן אֲשֶׁ֣ר אַתָּה֩ שָׁלַ֨חְתָּ בְשִׁמְכָ֜ה סְפָרִ֗ים אֶל־כׇּל־הָעָם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בִּירוּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם וְאֶל־צְפַנְיָ֤ה בֶן־מַֽעֲשֵׂיָה֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְאֶ֥ל כׇּל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Because you sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah and to the rest of the priests, as follows,

Shemayahu's offense begins with letters he sent in his own name to the people of Yerushalayim, to Tzefanyah son of Maaseyah the priest and to all the priests. Metzudat David stresses that he wrote in his name alone, not on behalf of the exile community, as though everything depended on him. Radak notes the unusual spelling with a final heh in the word for your name.

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

יְהֹוָ֞ה נְתָנְךָ֣ כֹהֵ֗ן תַּ֚חַת יְהוֹיָדָ֣ע הַכֹּהֵ֔ן לִֽהְי֤וֹת פְּקִדִים֙ בֵּ֣ית יְהֹוָ֔ה לְכׇל־אִ֥ישׁ מְשֻׁגָּ֖ע וּמִתְנַבֵּ֑א וְנָתַתָּ֥ה אֹת֛וֹ אֶל־הַמַּהְפֶּ֖כֶת וְאֶל־הַצִּינֹֽק׃

English:

“GOD appointed you priest in place of the priest Jehoiada, to exercise authority in the House of GOD over every maniac who wants to play the prophet, to put them into the stocks and into the pillory.

Shemayahu reminds Tzefanyah that God appointed him priest in place of Yehoyada to oversee the Temple and confine every madman who plays the prophet in the stocks and the collar. Rashi explains the instruments of confinement, and Metzudat David the role of chief priest. Radak notes the irony that even deniers of the true prophet named God as the source of authority, and that madman was a common insult for prophets.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
נתנך כהן. אל צפניה כתב כן: פקידים. ממונים: מהפכת. כיפה: הצינוק. סדן ציפ"ש בלע"ז:
made you a priest He wrote this to Zephaniah. officers appointees. the prison כִּפָה the stocks a tree trunk (ceps in French).

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּ֗ה לָ֚מָּה לֹ֣א גָעַ֔רְתָּ בְּיִרְמְיָ֖הוּ הָֽעַנְּתֹתִ֑י הַמִּתְנַבֵּ֖א לָכֶֽם׃

English:

Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah the Anathothite, who plays the prophet among you?

The demand is pointed: why have you not rebuked Yirmiyahu of Anatot, who prophesies among you? Metzudat David paraphrases: given your office, why have you not even scolded Yirmiyahu, who speaks madness from his own heart? A false prophet in Bavel is calling on the Temple authorities in Yerushalayim to silence the true prophet, a reversal of roles that sums up the spiritual confusion of the age.

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

כִּ֣י עַל־כֵּ֞ן שָׁלַ֥ח אֵלֵ֛ינוּ בָּבֶ֥ל לֵאמֹ֖ר אֲרֻכָּ֣ה הִ֑יא בְּנ֤וּ בָתִּים֙ וְשֵׁ֔בוּ וְנִטְע֣וּ גַנּ֔וֹת וְאִכְל֖וּ אֶת־פְּרִיהֶֽן׃

English:

For he has actually sent a message to us in Babylon to this effect: It will be a long time. Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and enjoy their fruit.”—

Shemayahu's evidence is Yirmiyahu's own message: the exile is long, so build houses and plant gardens. Rashi explains that Shemayahu cites this as grounds for rebuke. Metzudat David notes that to Shemayahu such counsel sounded like madness, and suggests Yirmiyahu may have conveyed this message orally or in writing before the letter sent with Elasah. Radak notes the differing forms of the word for their fruit.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
כי על כן שלח. כי יש לך לגעור בו על אשר שלח אלינו בבל לאמר ארוכה היא גלותכם שם: על כן. כמו על אשר:
Forasmuch as For you should rebuke him since he sent to us to Babylon saying, "Your exile there is long." Forasmuch as like עַל-אֲֹשֶר because of which.

פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29

Hebrew:

וַיִּקְרָ֛א צְפַנְיָ֥ה הַכֹּהֵ֖ן אֶת־הַסֵּ֣פֶר הַזֶּ֑ה בְּאׇזְנֵ֖י יִרְמְיָ֥הוּ הַנָּבִֽיא׃ {פ}

English:

When the priest Zephaniah read this letter in the hearing of the prophet Jeremiah,

Tzefanyah the priest reads Shemayahu's letter in the hearing of Yirmiyahu, apparently declining to act on it. Metzudat David explains that this too is part of the letter sent to the exiles, and that Yirmiyahu speaks of himself in the third person, a common biblical style, citing Shmuel's similar usage in I Shmuel 12. Tzefanyah's restraint recalls the officials who protected the prophet in chapter 26.

פסוק ל׳ · Verse 30

Hebrew:

וַֽיְהִי֙ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

the word of GOD came to Jeremiah:

The word of the LORD comes to Yirmiyahu in response. Metzudat David explains that the introductory formula is repeated because the narrative has grown long with the account of Shemayahu's letter and Tzefanyah's reading of it, so the text resumes with a fresh introduction before delivering God's answer. The challenge raised by a human letter is answered by divine word.

פסוק ל״א · Verse 31

Hebrew:

שְׁלַ֤ח עַל־כׇּל־הַגּוֹלָה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־שְׁמַעְיָ֖ה הַנֶּחֱלָמִ֑י יַ֡עַן אֲשֶׁר֩ נִבָּ֨א לָכֶ֜ם שְׁמַעְיָ֗ה וַֽאֲנִי֙ לֹ֣א שְׁלַחְתִּ֔יו וַיַּבְטַ֥ח אֶתְכֶ֖ם עַל־שָֽׁקֶר׃

English:

Send a message to the entire exile community: “Thus said GOD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you false promises,

Yirmiyahu is told to send to the entire exile community concerning Shemayahu, who prophesied though God did not send him and made them trust in a lie. Metzudat David explains that the falsehood was a false promise, the assurance of a quick return. The language deliberately echoes the indictment of Chananyah in chapter 28, who likewise made the people trust in a lie.

פסוק ל״ב · Verse 32

Hebrew:

לָכֵ֞ן כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה הִנְנִ֨י פֹקֵ֜ד עַל־שְׁמַעְיָ֣ה הַנֶּחֱלָמִי֮ וְעַל־זַרְעוֹ֒ לֹא־יִהְיֶ֨ה ל֜וֹ אִ֣ישׁ ׀ יוֹשֵׁ֣ב ׀ בְּתוֹךְ־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֗ה וְלֹֽא־יִרְאֶ֥ה בַטּ֛וֹב אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י עֹשֶֽׂה־לְעַמִּ֖י נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה כִּֽי־סָרָ֥ה דִבֶּ֖ר עַל־יְהֹוָֽה׃ {פ}

English:

assuredly, thus said GOD: I am going to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his offspring. There shall be no one of his line dwelling among this people or seeing the good things I am going to do for My people—declares GOD—for he has urged disloyalty toward GOD.”

Shemayahu's punishment fits his crime: he and his descendants will have no one dwelling among this people, and he will not see the good God will do for His people, because he spoke rebellion against the LORD. Metzudat David explains that none of his seed will sit among the officials and elders, and the good he will not see is the return from exile. He who denied the return will not share in it.

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