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Chronology and 607 BCE · Claim record

Jeremiah 29:10 has the Hebrew preposition le- attached to 'Babylon'. Most modern translations render it 'for Babylon', making the seventy years Babylon's period; the New World Translation reads 'at Babylon', as the King James Version also does. The preposition alone cannot settle the question.

Claim ID claim-chronology-jer-29-10-prepositionConcerns 19 September 2026Context
Context · 19 September 2026 Verified

Jeremiah 29:10 has the Hebrew preposition le- attached to 'Babylon'. Most modern translations render it 'for Babylon', making the seventy years Babylon's period; the New World Translation reads 'at Babylon', as the King James Version also does. The preposition alone cannot settle the question. The JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition; Hebrew text 'Miqra according to the Masorah', 2023New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), 2013King James Version, 1611

The organisation’s position or later explanation: 'Instead of saying 70 years "at Babylon," many translations read "for Babylon." Some historians therefore claim that this 70-year period applies to the Babylonian Empire' (The Watchtower, 1 October 2011, p. 27).

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Peer-reviewed / scholarly Verified

The JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition; Hebrew text 'Miqra according to the Masorah', “Jeremiah 29:10”

2023 · Jeremiah 29:10 · Jewish Publication Society (translation); Sefaria (digital text)

“For thus said GOD: When Babylon’s seventy years are over, I will take note of you, and I will fulfill to you My promise of favor—to bring you back to this place.”

The Hebrew reads ki lefi melot le-Bavel shiv'im shanah. The preposition le- attached to 'Babylon' can be read either as 'for Babylon' (a period belonging to Babylon) or as 'at Babylon' (a period served in Babylon); this translation takes the former.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. The Sefaria API was queried on 19 September 2026 and both the pointed Hebrew and the JPS English returned and read. The version is “THE JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition” over the Hebrew text “Miqra according to the Masorah”, licensed CC BY-NC. JPS sets the divine name in small capitals; it is given here in plain capitals. The opening clause “For thus said GOD” is restored here: an earlier version of this record began the quotation at “When Babylon’s”, which made this verse look shorter than the KJV and New World renderings quoted beside it.

Corroborated by. src-chr-e-kjv-jer-29-10

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chr-e-jps-jer-29-10

Primary JW publication Verified

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition), “Jeremiah 29:10”

2013 · Jeremiah 29:10 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“For this is what Jehovah says, 'When 70 years at Babylon are fulfilled, I will turn my attention to you, and I will make good my promise by bringing you back to this place.'”

The organisation's own rendering of the verse on which its seventy-year exile depends. The chapter outline heading reads 'Israel to return after 70 years (10)'.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Fetched from the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in context. The 1984 edition read 'In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon'.

Corroborated by. src-chr-e-jps-jer-29-10, src-chr-e-kjv-jer-29-10

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chr-e-nwt-2013-jer-29-10

Peer-reviewed / scholarly Verified

King James Version, “Jeremiah 29:10”

1611 · Jeremiah 29:10 · Public domain

“For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.”

A long-established translation that renders the preposition 'at Babylon', as the New World Translation does. The rendering in Jeremiah 29:10 is not peculiar to the Witnesses and cannot by itself be treated as a distortion.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Retrieved and read on 19 September 2026 from the public bible-api.com endpoint.

Corroborated by. src-chr-e-nwt-2013-jer-29-10

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chr-e-kjv-jer-29-10

Claim page

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