He sent it after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the palace officials, ¹  the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had been exiled from Jerusalem. ² 

“The Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says to all those he sent ²  into exile to Babylon from Jerusalem, ³ 

He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than ¹  the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

The young men of On and of Pi-beseth ¹  will die by the sword; and the cities will go ²  into captivity.

I scattered them among the nations; they were dispersed throughout foreign countries. In accordance with their behavior and their deeds I judged them.

But if you repent ¹  and obey ²  my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location, ³  I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.’

The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem ¹  to Babylon. It was addressed to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the other people who were exiled in Babylon. ² 

I will make myself available to you,’ ¹  says the Lord. ²  ‘Then I will reverse your plight ³  and will regather you from all the nations and all the places where I have exiled you,’ says the Lord. ⁴  ‘I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.’

Now some of the officers of the Judean army and their troops had been hiding in the countryside. They heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam to govern ¹  the country. They also heard that he had been put in charge over the men, women, and children from the poorer classes of the land who had not been carried off into exile in Babylon. ² 

Then your survivors will remember me among the nations where they are exiled. They will realize ¹  how I was crushed by their unfaithful ²  heart which turned from me and by their eyes which lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves ³  because of the evil they have done and because of all their abominable practices.

Even if your exiles are in the most distant land, ¹  from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.

The woman said, “Why have you devised something like this against God’s people? When the king speaks in this fashion, he makes himself guilty, for the king has not brought back the one he has banished.

In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel ¹  to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.

So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you ¹  deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” ² 

you whom I am bringing back ¹  from the earth’s extremities, and have summoned from the remote regions – I told you, “You are my servant.” I have chosen you and not rejected you.

It is me – I stir him up and commission him; ¹  I will make all his ways level. He will rebuild my city; he will send my exiled people home, but not for a price or a bribe,” says the Lord who commands armies.

This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away. He will be like a clay vessel ¹  that no one wants. ²  Why will he and his children be forced into exile? Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about? ³ 

He has already spoken about these things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem away as captives. ¹ 

But just listen to what the Lord has to say about ¹  the king who occupies David’s throne and all your fellow countrymen who are still living in this city of Jerusalem ²  and were not carried off into exile with you.

‘I will certainly regather my people from all the countries where I will have exiled ¹  them in my anger, fury, and great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and allow them to live here in safety.