Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 29:5

"Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them." — Jeremiah 29:5 (ASV)

Build ye houses, and dwell in them. —The command had a twofold bearing. It counselled a patient acceptance of the present state of things. It announced, as the next verse does yet more emphatically, that their exile would last for at least two generations.

It indicates, also, the comparative leniency with which the exiles were treated. They were allowed to become possessors of both lands and houses. The favour shown to Daniel and his friends would, of course, tend to make their condition more tolerable.