at their exile would be long.

It is proof of the change in the Prophet's position among his people(495)
that his Letter was carried to Babylon by two ambassadors from the King of
Judah to Nebuchadrezzar, and evidently with the consent of Sedekiah
himself. The text of the Letter and of its title, originally no doubt from
Baruch's memoirs, has been considerably expanded, as is clear not only
from the brevity of the Greek version, but from the superfluous formulas
and premature insertions which the Hebrew and the Greek have in common.
Following others I have taken verses 5-7 as metre; and if this is right we
have a fresh instance of Jeremiah's passing from metre to prose in the
same discourse. The metrical character of 5-7 is not certain. Its couplets
run on the following irregular scheme of stresses: 3 + 4, 2 + 3, 3 + 3, 3
+ 2 (?), 3 + 4, 3 + 4--the last line as so often in a strophe being a long
one.(496)

XXIX. 1. These are the words of the Letter which Jeremiah sent
from Jerusalem unto [the remnant of] the elders of the exiles, [3]
by the hand of Eleasah, son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, son of
Hilkiah, whom Sedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Babylon unto the
king of Babylon saying, [4] Thus saith the Lord, the God of
Israel, unto the exiles whom I have exiled from Jerusalem:(497)

Build houses and settle ye down, 5
Plant gardens and eat of their fruit,
Take ye wives, 6
And beget sons and daughters.
Take wives to your sons,
Give your daughters to husbands,
To beget sons and daughters,(498)
And increase(499) and do not diminish.
And seek ye the peace of the land,(500) 7
To the which I have banished you,
And pray for it unto the Lord,
For in her peace your peace shall be.

8. [For thus saith the Lord, Let not the prophets in your midst
deceive you, nor your diviners, nor hearken to the dreams they (?)
dream. 9. For falsehood are they prophesying unto you in My Name;
I have not sent them.](501) 10. For thus saith the Lord, So soon
as seventy years be fulfilled for Babylon, I will visit you and
establish My Word toward you by bringing you(502) back to this
place.

For I am thinking about you-- 11
Rede of the Lord--
Thoughts not of evil but peace
To give you a Future and Hope.
Ye shall pray Me, and I will hear you, 12
Seek Me and find; 13
If ye ask Me with all your heart