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Why did Jeremiah tell the exiles to settle peacefully in Babylonia?

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Painting by Rembrandt van Rijn showing Jeremiah sitting in a dimly lit cave, head resting on his hand in sorrow, with Jerusalem burning in the background. — Jeremiah *Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem*, oil on panel by Rembrandt, 1630: in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Jeremiah advised the exiles in Babylonia to settle peacefully and seek the welfare of their captors because he believed that their displacement was a divine judgment and that they should not expect an immediate return to their homeland.1

During the early years of King Zedekiah's reign, Jeremiah wrote a letter to the exiles countering the claims of false prophets who were encouraging them to believe that their time in exile would be short. By urging the people to submit to the "yoke of Babylonia," Jeremiah emphasized that it was Yahweh who had delivered them into the hands of the Neo-Babylonian empire. His message was rooted in the conviction that the exile was a consequence of the people's past idolatry and moral corruption, and that they should focus on maintaining their community and identity within their new environment rather than pursuing futile rebellions.123