Jeremiah 39–43

The Fall of Jerusalem

39ⁿIn the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. ²In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. ³Then all ^othe officials of the king of Babylon came ^pand sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sar-ezer of Samgar, Nebu-sar-sekim ^qthe Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, with all the rest of the officers of the king of Babylon. ⁴When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the king’s garden through the gate between the two walls; and they went toward ^rthe Arabah. ⁵But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in ^sthe plains of Jericho. And when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, at ^tRiblah, in the land of Hamath; ^uand he passed sentence on him. ⁶The king of Babylon ^vslaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at ^tRiblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon ^vslaughtered all the nobles of Judah. ^7wHe put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. ^8xThe Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the house of the people, ^yand broke down the walls of Jerusalem. ⁹Then ^zNebuzaradan, the ^acaptain of the guard, carried into exile to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, ^bthose who had deserted to him, and the people who remained. ¹⁰Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, ^cleft in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.

The Lord Delivers Jeremiah

¹¹Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying, ^12d“Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he tells you.” ¹³So ^eNebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, ^eand all the chief officers of the king of Babylon ¹⁴sent and took Jeremiah from ^fthe court of the guard. They entrusted him to ^gGedaliah the son of ^hAhikam, son of ⁱShaphan, that he should take him home. So ^jhe lived among the people.

¹⁵The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah ^kwhile he was shut up in the court of the guard: ¹⁶“Go, and say to ^lEbed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^mBehold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and ⁿnot for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. ¹⁷But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men ^oof whom you are afraid. ¹⁸For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your ^plife as a prize of war, ^qbecause you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’ ”

Jeremiah Remains in Judah

40The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^rafter Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from ^sRamah, when he took him ^tbound in chains along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. ²The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ^u“The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place. ³The Lord has brought it about, and has done as he said. ^vBecause you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you. ⁴Now, behold, I release you today from ^tthe chains on your hands. ^wIf it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, ^wbut if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. ^xSee, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go. ⁵If you remain,¹ then return to ^yGedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, ^zwhom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present, and let him go. ⁶Then Jeremiah went to ^yGedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^aMizpah, and lived with him ^bamong the people ^cwho were left in the land.

^7dWhen all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that ^ethe king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of ^fthe poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon, ⁸they went to Gedaliah at ^aMizpah—^gIshmael the son of Nethaniah, ^hJohanan the son of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, ⁱJezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men. ⁹Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, ^jand it shall be well with you. ¹⁰As for me, I will dwell at ^aMizpah, to represent you before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But as for you, ^lgather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in ^mMoab and among ⁿthe Ammonites and in ^oEdom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ^12pthen all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they ^qgathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

¹³Now ^rJohanan the son of Kareah and ^sall the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴and said to him, “Do you know that Baalis the king of ^tthe Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them. ¹⁵Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, ^uand the remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.”

Gedaliah Murdered

41^vIn the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^wMizpah. As they ^xate bread together there at Mizpah, ^2yIshmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, ^zwhom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. ³Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at ^wMizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.

⁴On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, ⁵eighty men arrived from ^aShechem and ^bShiloh and ^cSamaria, with ^dtheir beards shaved and ^etheir clothes torn, and ^dtheir bodies gashed, ^fbringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. ⁶And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from ^gMizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” ⁷When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. ⁸But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have ^hstores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.

⁹Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with¹ Gedaliah was the large cistern that ⁱKing Asa had made for defense against ⁱBaasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. ¹⁰Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, ^jthe king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom ^kNebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to ^lthe Ammonites.

¹¹But when ^mJohanan the son of Kareah and ⁿall the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, ¹²they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at ^othe great pool that is in ^pGibeon. ¹³And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and ^qall the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. ^14rSo all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. ¹⁵But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to ^sthe Ammonites. ¹⁶Then Johanan the son of Kareah and ^qall the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, ^twomen, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from ^uGibeon. ¹⁷And they went and stayed at Geruth ^vChimham near ^wBethlehem, intending to go to Egypt ¹⁸because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, ^xwhom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Warning Against Going to Egypt

42Then ^yall the commanders of the forces, and ^zJohanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of ^aHoshaiah, and all the people ^bfrom the least to the greatest, came near ²and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let ^cour plea for mercy come before you, and ^dpray to the Lord your God for us, for all ^ethis remnant—^fbecause we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— ³that…