Jeremiah 29:12
Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Study Note
Study Note
Set within Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon (29:1–23), this promise — 'ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you' — provides the exilic community with a theology of prayer that transcends the loss of Temple, land, and dynasty. The promise depends on the preceding condition — 'when seventy years are accomplished' (v. 10) and 'when ye shall search for me with all your heart' (v. 13) — establishing that divine accessibility is guaranteed by grace but activated by wholehearted seeking. Verse 13's famous 'ye shall seek me and find me' became one of the most widely cited prayer-promises in Jewish and Christian devotional tradition (Matthew 7:7–8). The letter itself is significant as a theology of constructive exile — God's people can flourish, pray, and be found by God outside the Holy Land.
Other Translations
And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
`And ye have called Me, and have gone, and have prayed unto Me, and I have hearkened unto you,
And you will go on crying to me and making prayer to me, and I will give ear to you.
Cross References
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I …
For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto …
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the …
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do …
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.