And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

JEREMIAH 29:14KJV
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Jeremiah 29:14 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 29:14 mean?

Jeremiah 29:14 promises that God will let His people find Him, end their captivity, and bring them back from all the places where they have been scattered. God is assuring the exiled Israelites that He will personally gather them and restore them to their homeland.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to Israelites who have been taken away from their land and are living in exile, mainly in Babylon. The verse is part of a letter Jeremiah sent to encourage the exiles, telling them that their separation from home is not permanent and that God Himself will reverse their situation. The focus is on God's initiative to restore and reunite His people, emphasizing hope and faithfulness even in a time of loss and displacement.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 29:14

  • "Captivity" (שְׁבוּת, shevut): This word refers to the state of being exiled or taken captive. Its use here highlights not just physical relocation but also the sense of loss and longing for restoration.
  • "Gather" (קָבַץ, qavats): This word means to collect or assemble together. It stresses that God is not just ending exile but actively bringing His people back from many distant places.
  • "Nations" (גּוֹיִם, goyim): This term means peoples or nations and underscores the wide scattering of the Israelites, showing that their return will be from many lands, not just one.
  • "Place" (מָקוֹם, maqom): This word points to a specific location, reminding the exiles that God’s promise is about returning them to their original homeland, not just any place.

Why Jeremiah 29:14 matters

  • Jeremiah 29:14 corrects the idea that exile is the end of God's relationship with His people; instead, it shows God’s commitment to restoration.
  • The verse emphasizes that God Himself is the one who acts to restore, not the people's own efforts or circumstances.
  • In the wider context of Jeremiah 29, this promise reassures the exiles to settle in their current situation but also to hold onto hope for a future return, grounding their faith in God’s faithfulness.

Where else these words appear

“captivity” Hebrew H7622 · used in 27 verses

  • Numbers 21:29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
  • Jeremiah 30:18 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.
  • Lamentations 2:14 Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.

“driven” Hebrew H5080 · used in 51 verses

  • Deuteronomy 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
  • Nehemiah 1:9 But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.
  • Jeremiah 27:15 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

“gather” Hebrew H6908 · used in 121 verses

  • Genesis 41:35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
  • 2 Chronicles 32:4 So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
  • Jeremiah 31:8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.