So says Jehovah, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will acknowledge the exiles of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon.
(After Jeconiah the king, and the queen mother, and the eunuchs, the rulers of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the smiths, had departed from Jerusalem.)
Send to all the exiles, saying, So says Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, and I did not send him, and he caused you to trust in a lie,
And go! Go to those of the captivity, to the sons of your people, and speak to them, and tell them, So says the Lord Jehovah; whether they will hear or whether they will forbear.
Then I came to the exiles at Tel-at-abib, who lived by the river Chebar. And I sat where they sat; and I also dwelt seven days, being stricken dumb among them.
Be in pain and deliver, daughter of Zion, like one giving birth. For now you shall go out from the city, and you shall dwell in the field; and you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be snatched back; there Jehovah shall redeem you from the hand of your enemies.