Who first received it?
Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Around 597 BC the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar took the king of Judah and thousands of his people from Jerusalem to Babylon. Jeremiah's letter went to them, a community far from home and unsure whether God had finished with them.
What did God tell them to do first?
4Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.
6Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished.
7And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.
Settle down. Build houses, plant gardens, marry, and pray for the city that had carried them away. Other prophets were telling them they would be home soon. Read Jeremiah 28, where Hananiah promised a return within two years. God's message through Jeremiah was the opposite: this will take a long time, so live faithfully where you are.
What does verse 11 actually say?
10For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.
11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
The promise comes after the words “seventy years”. Many of the adults who first heard this letter would not live to see the return. In Hebrew, “you” here is plural. The promise is to the people as a whole.
12Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
14I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.
The verses that follow are about prayer: calling on God, seeking Him with all your heart, and being found by Him. The promise and the call to seek God belong together.
What can you take from it today?
Christians apply this passage in different ways, and most agree on its centre. God keeps His promises to His people, even across long years. His good purposes can be at work in a hard place you did not choose. Seeking Him is part of the promise, not an extra.
What it does not do is promise that your exam, your job or your relationship will go the way you hope. You can still pray it. Pray it the way the exiles had to: settled in for the long haul, looking for God where you are.
For example: “Lord, I am somewhere I did not choose. Help me live faithfully here and pray for the people around me. Help me seek You with my whole heart, and thank You that You do not forget Your people. Amen.” This is a prepared example.
For a method you can use with any verse, read how to read a Bible verse in context. For the whole book, see our guide to Jeremiah.