[1] The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, after Nebuzaradan, the
captain of the armed men, had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him;
for he had been put in chains, among all the prisoners of Jerusalem and
Judah who were taken away prisoners to Babylon. [2] And the captain of the
armed men took Jeremiah and said to him, The Lord your God gave word of the
evil which was to come on this place: [3] *** and the Lord has made it
come, and has done as he said; because of your sin against the Lord in not
giving ear to his voice; and that is why this thing has come on you. [4]
Now see, this day I am freeing you from the chains which are on your hands.
If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, then come, and I will
keep an eye on you; but if it does not seem good to you to come with me to
Babylon, then do not come: see, all the land is before you; if it seems
good and right to you to go on living in the land, [5] Then go back to
Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon
has made ruler over the towns of Judah, and make your living-place with him
among the people; or go wherever it seems right to you to go. So the
captain of the armed men gave him food and some money and let him go. [6]
So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, in Mizpah, and was living
with him among the people who were still in the land. [7] Now when it came
to the ears of all the captains of the forces who were in the field, and
their men, that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam,
ruler in the land, and had put under his care the men and women and
children, all the poorest of the land, those who had not been taken away to
Babylon; [8] Then they came to Gedaliah in Mizpah, even Ishmael, the son of
Nethaniah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Seraiah, the son of
Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah, the son of
the Maacathite, they and their men. [9] And Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam,
the son of Shaphan, took an oath to them and their men, saying, Have no
fear of the servants of the Chaldaeans: go on living in the land, and
become the servants of the king of Babylon, and all will be well. [10] As
for me, I will be living in Mizpah as your representative before the
Chaldaeans who come to us: but you are to get in your wine and summer
fruits and oil and put them in your vessels, and make living-places for
yourselves in the towns which you have taken. [11] In the same way, when
all the Jews who were in Moab and among the children of Ammon and in Edom
and in all the countries, had news that the king of Babylon had let Judah
keep some of its people and that he had put over them Gedaliah, the son of
Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; [12] Then all the Jews came back from all the
places to which they had gone in flight, and came to the land of Judah, to
Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and got in a great store of wine and summer fruit.
[13] Now Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces
which were in the field, came to Gedaliah in Mizpah, [14] And said to him,
Has it come to your knowledge that Baalis, the king of the children of
Ammon, has sent Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, to take your life? But
Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, put no faith in what they said. [15] Then
Johanan, the son of Kareah, said to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, Let me now
go and put Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, to death without anyone's
knowledge: why let him take your life so that all the Jews who have come
together to you may be sent in flight, and the rest of the men of Judah
come to an end? [16] But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, said to Johanan, the
son of Kareah, You are not to do this: for what you say about Ishmael is
false.
