Jeremiah 29:7

Jeremiah 29:7

And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

a. NLT: And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. ASV: And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: And seek the peace of the city whither I have removed you, and pray for it unto Jehovah, for in its peace ye have peace. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Classic Amplified: And seek (inquire for, require, and request) the peace and welfare of the city to which I have caused you to be carried away captive; and pray to the Lord for it, for in the welfare of [the city in which you live] you will have welfare. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Septuagint [Jeremiah 29:7 in our Bible is Jeremiah 36:7 in the Septuagint: And seek the peace of the land into which I have carried you captive, and ye shall pray to the Lord for the people: for in its peace ye shall [have] peace.] 

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: Seek the peace of the city to which i have exiled you and pray for it to HASHEM, for through its peace will you have peace. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

1. “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives…”

a. [And] seek [Strong: 1875 darash daw-rash' a primitive root; properly, to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication, to seek or ask; specifically to worship:--ask, X at all, care for, X diligently, inquire, make inquisition, (necro-)mancer, question, require, search, seek (for, out), X surely.]

b. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

c. [the] peace [Strong: 7965 shalowm shaw-lome' or shalom {shaw-lome'}; from 7999; safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:--X do, familiar, X fare, favour, + friend, X great, (good) health, (X perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, (X all is, be) well, X wholly.]

d. [of the] city [Strong: 5892 `iyr eer or (in the plural) par {awr}; or ayar (Judges 10:4) {aw-yar'}; from 5782 a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post):--Ai (from margin), city, court (from margin), town.]

e. [whither I have caused you to be] carried away [Strong: 1540 galah gaw-law' a primitive root; to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense); by implication, to exile (captives being usually stripped); figuratively, to reveal:--+ advertise, appear, bewray, bring, (carry, lead, go) captive (into captivity), depart, disclose, discover, exile, be gone, open, X plainly, publish, remove, reveal, X shamelessly, shew, X surely, tell, uncover.]

2. “...and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.”

a. [and] pray [Strong: 6419 palal paw-lal' a primitive root; to judge (officially or mentally); by extension, to intercede, pray:--intreat, judge(-ment), (make) pray(-er, -ing), make supplication.]

b. unto [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

c. [the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw' from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord.]

d. for [it] [Strong: 1157 b`ad beh-ad' from 5704 with prepositional prefix; in up to or over against; generally at, beside, among, behind, for, etc.:--about, at by (means of), for, over, through, up (-on), within.]

e. for [Strong: 3588 kiy kee a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed:--and, + (forasmuch, inasmuch, where-)as, assured(-ly), + but, certainly, doubtless, + else, even, + except, for, how, (because, in, so, than) that, + nevertheless, now, rightly, seeing, since, surely, then, therefore, + (al- )though, + till, truly, + until, when, whether, while, whom, yea, yet.]

f. [in the] peace [thereof] [Strong: 7965 shalowm shaw-lome' or shalom {shaw-lome'}; from 7999; safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:--X do, familiar, X fare, favour, + friend, X great, (good) health, (X perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, (X all is, be) well, X wholly.]

g. [shall ye] have [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

h. peace [Strong: 7965 shalowm shaw-lome' or shalom {shaw-lome'}; from 7999; safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:--X do, familiar, X fare, favour, + friend, X great, (good) health, (X perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, (X all is, be) well, X wholly.]

1). Under the New Covenant we are to honor and respect and pray for the government leaders we are under. I have had to repent of violating this, and by the grace of God and my free will I will obey and not violate this word again. We must remember that the Jews had been violently removed from their home, the men were castrated, physically mutilated by Babylon and yet Jeremiah exhorted them to pray for Babylon. We must also remember that the king that Paul exhorted us to be subject to at that time, was Nero, who burned Christians as torches in Rome. 

a). Romans 13:1-7 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

13:5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

13:6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

13:7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

b). 1 Timothy 2:1-8 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

2:2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

2). In showing honor to the King whoever he is I am reminded of the respect and honor and compassion that Daniel had for Nebuchadnezzar. When  Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel his dream for Daniel to interpret it, his godly attitude showed through.

a). Daniel 4:19 [New Living Translation]  “Upon hearing this, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) was overcome for a time, frightened by the meaning of the dream. Then the king said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, don’t be alarmed by the dream and what it means.’ “Belteshazzar replied, ‘I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you!