Jeremiah 29:11 – 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. (King James Version)

This is one of our favourite verses in the entire Bible. You may have noticed we have used the KJV of this verse above and although Norm and I use the New International Version for our every day use, this verse doesn’t work for us in the NIV.

This is how it’s written in the NIV: 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.

Do you see the difference? Does it contradict? Does it make you feel better as a person reading the NIV version of this verse? Does it make you think you’ll be wealthy?

After discussing this, we decided that it’s more likely that the author of Jeremiah meant this for the Jewish nation as a whole; to grow stronger or to flourish. We read in the Bible that this promise was fulfilled. That is: those in exile returned, and the nation of Israel was restored for a time. God made a promise through the prophets, and that promise came true.

Our God is the God of salvation. He wants to redeem people and put them on a path of wholeness, just as He wanted the nation of Israel to be redeemed and to be whole again. He really wanted them to thrive and flourish.

As any fan of Star Trek knows, to “live long and prosper” is good advice.

Have a very happy and prosperous New Year.

© Chrissy & Norm Siggee

Resources:

Origin: 1425–75; late Middle English prosperen < Latin prosperāre to make happy, derivative of prosperus translated as prosperous

https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/live-long-and-prosper.html

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/prosper

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