Berean Standard Bible
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
King James Version
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.
About this verse
Read the opening clause precisely: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD." I know — not "you will know." The exiles are never handed the blueprint; they are told the intent: "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope." The comfort offered is not information about the future but the character of the one holding it.
This is a line from a letter. Jeremiah sent it from Jerusalem to the Jews already deported to Babylon, and its context is bracing: the verse just before promises seventy years of exile first. The letter tells them to build houses, plant gardens, marry, and seek the welfare of the enemy city — because they will be there a long time. Many who first heard this promise would not live to see it kept; it was hope written for their grandchildren.
The verse turns up on graduation cards, usually meaning "great things are coming soon." That is smaller than what it says. This is not a shortcut around hard seasons; it is a promise about what lies on the other side of one, given to people settling in for a long wait. If your season looks like exile, this verse was addressed to your situation exactly — hope with a long fuse is still hope.
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