Jeremiah 29:6
Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
Original Language Analysis
וְתֵלַ֖דְנָה
and beget
H3205
וְתֵלַ֖דְנָה
and beget
Strong's:
H3205
Word #:
3 of 19
to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage
בָּנִ֣ים
and daughters
H1121
בָּנִ֣ים
and daughters
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
4 of 19
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
וּבָנ֑וֹת
and daughters
H1323
וּבָנ֑וֹת
and daughters
Strong's:
H1323
Word #:
5 of 19
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)
בָּנִ֣ים
and daughters
H1121
בָּנִ֣ים
and daughters
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
7 of 19
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
וְאֶת
H853
וְאֶת
Strong's:
H853
Word #:
9 of 19
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
וּבָנ֑וֹת
and daughters
H1323
וּבָנ֑וֹת
and daughters
Strong's:
H1323
Word #:
10 of 19
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)
תְּנ֣וּ
and give
H5414
תְּנ֣וּ
and give
Strong's:
H5414
Word #:
11 of 19
to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)
לַֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים
to husbands
H582
לַֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים
to husbands
Strong's:
H582
Word #:
12 of 19
properly, a mortal (and thus differing from the more dignified h0120); hence, a man in general (singly or collectively)
וְתֵלַ֖דְנָה
and beget
H3205
וְתֵלַ֖דְנָה
and beget
Strong's:
H3205
Word #:
13 of 19
to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage
בָּנִ֣ים
and daughters
H1121
בָּנִ֣ים
and daughters
Strong's:
H1121
Word #:
14 of 19
a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or
וּבָנ֑וֹת
and daughters
H1323
וּבָנ֑וֹת
and daughters
Strong's:
H1323
Word #:
15 of 19
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship, literally and figuratively)
שָׁ֖ם
H8033
Cross References
Genesis 24:51Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.Genesis 21:21And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.Genesis 29:19And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.Judges 12:9And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.1 Timothy 5:14I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.Genesis 34:4And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife.Genesis 9:7And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.Judges 14:2And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.
Historical Context
The instruction to arrange marriages for children 'that they may bear sons and daughters' ensured the Jewish community would continue. Ezra and Nehemiah later addressed the problem of intermarriage with pagans (Ezra 9-10; Nehemiah 13:23-27), showing both the challenge and the importance of maintaining covenant identity through marriage. The exilic community that followed Jeremiah's instructions preserved Jewish faith and identity, making the return possible.
Questions for Reflection
- How does this command to multiply and arrange marriages demonstrate faith in God's future purposes despite present difficulties?
- What does it mean to embrace life fully—marriage, children, future planning—while living as exiles awaiting our true home?
- In what ways might despair or end-times speculation tempt us to disengage from ordinary life rather than faithfully living in the present?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
God commands the exiles not merely to survive but to multiply—to take wives, have children, and arrange marriages for those children. This is covenant language echoing God's creation mandate to 'be fruitful and multiply' (Genesis 1:28) and His promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5). Even in exile, even under judgment, God's people are to embrace life, grow families, and continue the covenant line.
This command directly opposed the logic of despair. Why marry and have children if we're prisoners in a foreign land? Why bring children into suffering? Yet God commands it because His purposes continue even through judgment. The future hope of restoration required a next generation to carry it forward. Those who obeyed this command became the parents and grandparents of the generation that returned under Cyrus—Daniel, Ezekiel, Esther, Mordecai, Ezra, and Nehemiah were all products of the exilic community.
This teaching has profound implications for Christian living. We do not put life on hold waiting for Christ's return. We marry, raise children, plan for the future—not because we're earthly-minded but because faithful presence requires full engagement with our present context. The early church expected Christ's imminent return yet still organized communities, appointed elders, wrote letters for future generations, and commanded believers to marry and raise children (1 Corinthians 7; Ephesians 6:1-4; 1 Timothy 3).