³ The letter was sent by Shaphan’s son Elasah and by Hilkiah’s son Gemariah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in Babylon, and it said, ⁴ “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were taken from Jerusalem into exile to Babylon, ⁵ ‘Build houses and live in them.^[a] Plant gardens and eat their produce.