King James Version · read & reflect
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11
What Jeremiah 29:11 means
Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible — and one of the most lifted from its setting. Jeremiah wrote it in a letter to Israelites newly carried into exile in Babylon, telling them to build houses, plant gardens, and settle in for seventy years of captivity. Only then comes the promise: God's thoughts toward them are 'thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.' It is not a guarantee of an easy or immediate rescue, but of God's long-range faithfulness across a hard season.
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Frequently asked questions
- What does Jeremiah 29:11 mean?
- God tells his exiled people that his intentions toward them are good — peace and a future — even in the middle of a seventy-year captivity. The hope is real but long-range; it does not promise the absence of hardship, but God's faithfulness through it.
- Who was Jeremiah 29:11 written to?
- To the Jewish exiles taken to Babylon around 597 BC. It is part of a letter Jeremiah sent them, urging them to settle in and seek the welfare of the city while they waited on God's promise.