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what was the specific historical context of 'evil' or 'calamity' the exiles faced?

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

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” says Yahweh, “plans for shalom, and not for evil, to give you hope and a future.”

The prophet Jeremiah wrote this letter to Jewish people who had been forcibly removed from their homeland of Judah and taken to Babylon. This specific verse offers a message of hope in the midst of their involuntary exile.

What future calamity or evil might this verse be speaking about for people facing their own disruptions today?

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Read alongside it

Psalm 137:1-4
This psalm powerfully expresses the grief and despair of the exiles in Babylon.
Lamentations 1:1-5
This passage describes the devastating impact of Jerusalem's destruction and the people's subsequent captivity.
Isaiah 40:1-2
This passage offers a message of comfort and a promise of restoration after a period of hardship, speaking to a similar context of exile.

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