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.
King James Version
World English Bible (WEB)
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.
American Standard Version (ASV)
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Jehovah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope in your latter end.
HopeEncouragementGuidance LostAnxious
What this verse means
Spoken to exiles in a long wait, this verse promises that God's plans end in hope, not harm.
A closer look at Jeremiah 29:11
Jeremiah 29:11 is a letter to Judeans already living in Babylon, not a promise made to people standing on the edge of an easy promotion. The surrounding letter tells the exiles to build houses, plant gardens, marry, and seek the welfare of the city where God has sent them. The expected end comes after a stated seventy-year wait (29:10), so the hope is real but deliberately long-range. God has not forgotten a people who cannot see a quick way home.
That setting corrects two opposite readings. The verse is not a guarantee that every plan will succeed on our preferred timetable, and it is not empty optimism that ignores displacement. Its force is covenantal: even inside judgment and delay, God’s intention is not to abandon His people. Read with the verses before and after it, this becomes a prayer for faithful life in an unfinished season — do the next faithful thing, seek your neighbours’ good, and let hope outlast the calendar.
A short prayer
Lord, when the future feels uncertain, remind me Your plans for me end in hope.
Read in context — Jeremiah 29
9For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.
10For 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.
11For 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.
12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Related verses
“For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”Isaiah 41:13
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”Isaiah 55:11
“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:”Isaiah 55:6
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”James 1:5
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”James 3:17
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