For I Know the Thoughts That I Think Toward You (Jeremiah 29:11)

2023-04-11

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 29:11)

This verse is one of the most taken out of context verses there is. Consider the verse before it:

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. 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 29:10-11)

How many people do you know who spent 70 years in Babylon? This is speaking about the nation of Judah that was in exile for 70 years before returning to their land to reconstruct. This happened in the sixth century B.C.

Does the LORD have thoughts of peace toward us? Absolutely. We just do not use this verse to show it.