What Does Jeremiah 29:11 Mean?
Two renderings of the same sentence, the verses it belongs to, and what the passage is doing — so you can decide what it means rather than take someone's word for it.
"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, King James Version
The same verse in modern English
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11, Berean Standard Bible
What it sits inside
A verse quoted on its own is the commonest way one gets misread. Here it is with what comes immediately before and after, in the King James Version.
Jeremiah 29:9 For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:10 For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
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 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
A conversation built on it
Not knowing what comes next feels like being the only one without a direction. These words were given to people already in exile, and the instruction attached to them was not to wait — it was to build houses and plant gardens where they stood. The plan was known. Their part was the next ordinary thing.
Questions people ask
What does Jeremiah 29:11 mean?
In modern English (Berean Standard Bible) it reads: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.” The King James rendering most people know is: “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.”
What is the context of Jeremiah 29:11?
The verses immediately around it read: (Jeremiah 29:9) For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:10) For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. (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 29:12) Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. (Jeremiah 29:13) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
How is Jeremiah 29:11 used in a conversation about this?
Not knowing what comes next feels like being the only one without a direction. These words were given to people already in exile, and the instruction attached to them was not to wait — it was to build houses and plant gardens where they stood. The plan was known. Their part was the next ordinary thing.
Reading it is one thing. Saying what it stirs up is another.
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