* We all love to quote vs 11 - “God has a plan to prosper you…”

* But we don’t often mention the verses that came before it.

* The context was that God had just announced a 70 year punishment of the people.

* They would be taken from their homes, moved to a new land, and die in this new place.

* They would be servants of a new king because they had forsaken their one true king, God.

* They needed to submit under this punishment.

* Their one responsibility was to “seek the welfare of the city” in which they were enslaved.

* This was counter-intuitive for them, but obedience to this command kept them in God’s good graces.

* They needed to submit to this punishment and let God handle the outcome.