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what did 'peace' (shalom) mean to jeremiah's audience in babylon, given their captivity?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Jeremiah 29:7

Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you will have peace.

This verse is part of a letter from the prophet Jeremiah to the Jewish people who had been exiled to Babylon. He is writing to them in the sixth century BCE, after their forced displacement from Jerusalem, offering guidance for how to live in their new, difficult circumstances.

How might seeking the well-being of a place we feel alienated from paradoxically contribute to our own sense of peace?

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Read alongside it

  • Psalm 137:1-4

    This psalm expresses the deep sorrow and inability to sing while in Babylonian exile, showing the strong contrast to Jeremiah's call for engagement.

  • Romans 13:1

    This New Testament passage instructs submission to governing authorities, which can be seen as an echo of Jeremiah's call to work within a ruling system, even if oppressive.

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