Jeremiah 29:11 – What does it say?

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

First it should be noted that the question is not "What does this verse mean to you?", rather we search for the true meaning of the message as the writer intended. This verse has been used many times by a great many preachers to say that God wants to prosper us and shower us with blessings. Often it is used to tell us that God's greatest joy in the world is to give gifts to His children (usually referred to as all humans, saved and unsaved) and wants nothing more than to give us everything that our heart's desire. It is used to bring comfort to those who are suffering or to fleece money from unsuspecting viewers of television evangelists.

There are serious problems though with the application of the verse in either of these manners reading the verse in its historical, grammatical context.

1. It doesn't match up with reality

If God's plan were to bless his followers, why isn't He doing this? Why are there suffering Christians all over the world? Just look at the website of the Voice of the Martyrs <http://www.persecution.com/> to see what Christians are experiencing. Or search for "Christian Martyrs" on the Internet to understand what is happening in the world around us right now. Quickly one comes to the realization prosperity is not the plan for all of Christ's followers.

In addition many unbelievers are very prosperous, especially when it comes to the area of finances. Most of the richest people on our planet are not Christ followers.

It is clear that prosperity is not a "rule" or law of God.

2. God was not speaking to all people for all time; he was speaking to the exiles.

This verse is in the middle of a letter to the exiles that were taken prisoner by Babylon. This must be read in the context of where it is written otherwise it ceases to have any reasonable meaning.

Verse 1 starts with "These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon."

Notice the introduction says that it is to all the people in exile. God, speaking through Jeremiah, is giving comfort and guidance to these people and therefore it would seem that the whole letter would apply to these people.

Just prior to the verse in question Jeremiah says (verse 10)

"For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.

It is clear again from this that he is speaking specifically to those captives. In the beginning of verse 11 he uses the word "For". This word tells us that it is connected to the words just previously spoken.

Verse 11 should not be used on it's own out of context.

3. Typically the version of the Bible quoted is the NIV

The NIV says:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

However this is drastically different than every other version:

ESV:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

KJV:
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.

NASB:
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for  welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a  hope.

Why the difference?

To understand this better we should look to the root word used in the Hebrew where the NIV translates as prosper & harm.

Prosper: (šalôm) shalom
There is no single English word that describes this word fully. This is the most famous Hebrew word and we can not comprehend the meaning without speaking the original language. It should be translated as all of the following:
- Peace (The most common use)
- Completeness
- Safeness
- Health
- Friend
- Blessing

The NIV is the only version that chooses a word that doesn't really fit in with the whole list here. Even when the other versions choose different words they still do not do justice to the meaning of the word.

Harm: (racah) rachah
Here again is a word that is translated a variety of ways throughout scripture. It shows up 663 times and in the AV (Authorized Version) it is primarily translated as "evil" 442 times, "wickedness" 59 times, "wicked" 25 times, "mischief" 21 times, "hurt" 20 times, "bad" 13 times, "trouble" 10 times, "harm" 3 times.

So while it may be valid to use the word harm, it may be translated any number of ways into English. While no English version will serve as a perfect translation, all other versions provide a more accurate view than the NIV.

Conclusion
The overall intent of the verse can be used and applied as it provides insight into God's character. However, care must be taken when applying the verse to ensure that the impression is not that God will prosper every Christian and no harm will come. The extension of this is that if a Christian is not prospering or some harm is coming to them that God is either unable or unwilling to act. The true message is that God will provide comfort and peace no matter what His children are going through. This does not mean that life will be easy and that no harm will come to you. Rather that God will walk with you and bring shalom even in times of massive trouble and calamity.