In this first episode of Read It Again, I take on the most quoted, most printed verse in modern Christianity: Jeremiah 29:11. It is on coffee mugs, wall prints, and graduation cards everywhere, but almost nobody has read the verse before it or after it. I trace the letter back to where it actually started, a prophet writing to a people who had just watched their city fall and their temple burn, exiled hundreds of miles from everything they knew. What God tells them to do next is not what you would expect, and it changes everything about how verse 11 should land. This is not a smaller reading of the promise. It is a bigger one, and it holds up in seasons that a coffee mug never could. If you are in a Babylon you did not choose, this episode is for you.
Interesting Links:
- Wright, C. J. H. (2014). The message of Jeremiah. IVP.
- Watts Bar Community Church. (2025, August 27). When scripture gets twisted: Understanding Jeremiah 29:11 in context.
- Relevant Magazine. (n.d.). Stop taking Jeremiah 29:11 out of context.
- Lifeway Research. (2025, May 13). Americans judge the Good Book more positively, but still often by its cover.
- Goldingay, J. (2009). Old Testament theology: Israel’s life. IVP Academic.
- Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. (2020, October 2). The dangers of taking Bible verses out of context.
- Brueggemann, W. (1998). A commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and homecoming. Eerdmans.
- Bible Project. (n.d.). What does Jeremiah 29:11 mean?
- American Bible Society. (2025). State of the Bible USA 2025.
References to Bible Verses:
Jeremiah 29:11; Jeremiah 29:4–14; Lamentations 3:22–23; Philippians 4:13
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