For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). This promise from God is one of the most quoted and most misunderstood verses of the Bible. From the context, this is a specific promise made to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, who were taken into captivity around 607 B.C. The danger for believers today is to read this passage as if we are the main character, making it false good news of joy without pain, blessings without trial, prosperity without challenge. The good news is that Jeremiah 29:12-13 contains a general promise that is applicable today: that God works in all things for our greatest good.