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Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
Jeremiah 29:12 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
  • KJV Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
  • NKJV Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
  • NASB Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
  • NLT In those days when you pray, I will listen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God promises the exiles that when they call on Him and pray, He will listen. Exile does not cut off the line to God.

Overview

In His letter to the Babylonian captives, the LORD assures them that prayer remains effective even in a foreign land. This is part of the famous reassurance following Jeremiah 29:11, anchoring hope not in immediate rescue but in God's attentive presence. It anticipates the gospel truth that God hears all who call on Him in faith (Romans 10:13).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Matt 7:7–8Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
  • Jer 33:3Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
  • Ps 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
  • Ps 145:19He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.
  • Isa 65:24Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
  • Ps 10:17You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear,
  • Zech 13:9This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
  • Jer 31:9They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
  • Isa 30:19O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious when you cry for help; when He hears, He will answer you.
  • Dan 9:3–19So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
  • Ezek 36:37This is what the Lord GOD says: Once again I will hear the plea of the house of Israel and do for them this: I will multiply their people like a flock.
  • Ps 102:16–17For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory.
  • Neh 2:4–20“What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 29:12YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.

How Jeremiah 29:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.