Jeremiah 29:6
What does Jeremiah 29:6 mean?
A plain-English look at Jeremiah 29:6 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Jeremiah 29:6 means
Continuing the theme of long-term settlement, God instructs the exiles to "Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters: and multiply ye there, and be not diminished." This command to marry and have children underscores the long duration of their captivity. It was a charge to preserve their community and identity, ensuring that the covenant people of Israel would not disappear but would thrive even in a foreign land, fulfilling God’s promise to multiply His people.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters: and multiply ye there, and be not diminished.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters: and multiply ye there, and be not diminished.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Take wives and have sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may have sons and daughters; and be increased in number there and do not become less.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take for your sons wives, and your daughters give to husbands, and they bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and ye are not few;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters: and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, and let them bear sons and daughters: and be ye multiplied there, and be not few in number.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Take wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and be not diminished.
Context
Building on the previous command to build and plant, this verse further illustrates the expected duration of the exile. It shifts from individual settlement to community reproduction, urging the exiles to maintain their population. This instruction deepens the message that their stay in Babylon would be extended, requiring them to think generationally rather than just temporarily.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Judges 1:12
And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kiriath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
- Genesis 28:1
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
- Jeremiah 16:2
Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters, in this place.
- Genesis 24:51
Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as Jehovah hath spoken.
- Judges 12:9
And he had thirty sons; and thirty daughters he sent abroad, and thirty daughters he brought in from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.
- Genesis 21:21
And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
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