Jeremiah 29:10

The captivity would last 70 years (cf. Jeremiah 25:11-12).

"It is remarkable that Jeremiah was able to propose that the power of Babylon would last so brief a time." [Note: Thompson, p. 547.]

At the end of that time, the Lord would again intervene in their affairs, fulfill His promise to them, and bring them back to the Promised Land. This is one indication that God wanted the exiles to return at the end of the captivity. Those who chose to remain in Babylon afterwards were acting contrary to God’s will for them (cf. Jeremiah 50:8; Jeremiah 51:6; Deuteronomy 30:1-5; Isaiah 48:20).