Jeremiah 40–44

40^*The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, ^aafter that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had let him go from ^bRamah, when he had taken him being bound in ^||cchains among all ^dthat were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. ²And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and ^esaid unto him, ^fThe Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place. ³Now the Lord hath brought it, and done according as he hath said: ^egbecause ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. ⁴And now, behold, I loose thee this day from ^hthe chains which ^||were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and ^†I will look well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, ⁱall the land is before thee: whither ⁱit seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. ⁵Now while he was not yet gone back, ^jhe said, Go back also to ^kGedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^lwhom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him ^mamong the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him ⁿvictuals and a ^oreward, and let him go. ⁶Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to ^pMizpah; and dwelt with him ^mamong the people that were left in the land.

^7qNow when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that ^lthe king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and ^rof the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon; ⁸Then they came to Gedaliah to ^pMizpah, even ^sIshmael the son of Nethaniah, and ^tJohanan and Jonathan the sons of ^tKareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and ^uJezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. ⁹And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and ^vit shall be well with you. ¹⁰As for me, behold, I will dwell at ^pMizpah ^†to serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken. ^11vLikewise when all the Jews that were in ^wMoab, and among the ^xAmmonites, and in ^yEdom, and that were in all the countries, heard that ^lthe king of Babylon had ^zleft a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan; ^12zzEven all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and ^agathered wine and summer fruits very much.

¹³Moreover ^tJohanan the son of Kareah, and ^ball the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, ¹⁴And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that ^cBaalis the king of ^xthe Ammonites hath sent ^sIshmael the son of Nethaniah ^†to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not. ¹⁵Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? ¹⁶But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

41Now it came to pass ^ain the seventh month, ^bthat ^cIshmael the son of Nethaniah the son of ^dElishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to ^cMizpah; and there ^ethey did eat bread together in Mizpah. ^2bThen arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, ^fwhom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. ³Ishmael also slew all ^bthe Jews that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and ^bthe Chaldeans that were found there, and the men of war.

⁴And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, ⁵That there came certain from ^gShechem, from ^hShiloh, and from ⁱSamaria, even fourscore men, ^khaving their beards shaven, and ^ltheir clothes rent, and ^khaving cut themselves, ^mwith ⁿofferings and incense in their hand, to bring them ^oto the house of the Lord. ⁶And ^cIshmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from ^cMizpah to meet them, ^†pweeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. ⁷And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, ^qand cast them into the midst of ^rthe pit, he, and the men that were with him. ⁸But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have ^streasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren. ⁹Now ^rthe pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain ^||†because of Gedaliah, was it ^twhich Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain. ¹⁰Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, ^ueven the king’s daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, ^vwhom Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to ^wthe Ammonites.

¹¹But when ^xJohanan the son of Kareah, ^yand all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, ¹²Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by ^zthe great waters that are in ^aGibeon. ¹³Now it came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and ^yall the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad. ¹⁴So ^ball the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah. ¹⁵But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to ^wthe Ammonites. ¹⁶Then took ^xJohanan the son of Kareah, and ^yall the captains of the forces that were with him, ^yall the remnant of the people ^bwhom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty ^cmen of war, and ^cthe women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again from ^aGibeon: ¹⁷And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of ^dChimham, which is by ^eBeth-lehem, ^fto go to enter into Egypt, ¹⁸Because of the Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, ^gwhom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

42Then ^aall the captains of the forces, and ^bJohanan the son of Kareah, and ^bJezaniah the son of ^cHoshaiah, and all the people ^dfrom the least even unto the greatest, came near, ²And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, ^||Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and ^epray for us unto the Lord thy God, even ^ffor all this remnant; (for we are left but ^ga few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:) ³That the Lord thy God may shew us ^hthe way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do. ⁴Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that ⁱwhatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; ^jI will keep nothing back from you. ⁵Then they said to Jeremiah, ^kThe Lord be a true and ^lfaithful witness between us, ^mif we do not even according to all things ⁿfor the which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us. ⁶Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; ^othat it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.

⁷And it came to pass ^pafter ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah. ⁸Then called he ^bJohanan the son of Kareah, and ^aall the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people ^dfrom the least even to the greatest, ⁹And said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me ^qto present your supplication before him; ¹⁰If ye will still abide in this land, then ^rwill I build you, and not pull you down, and I ^rwill plant you, and not pluck you up: for ^sI repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. ¹¹Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; ^tbe not afraid of him, saith the Lord: ^tfor I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. ¹²And I will shew mercies unto you, ^uthat he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. ^13vBut if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, ¹⁴Saying, No; but ^wwe will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor ^xhear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: ¹⁵And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; ^xxIf ye wholly ^yset your faces to enter into Egypt, and ^zgo to sojourn there; ¹⁶Then it shall come to pass, that ^athe sword, ^bwhich ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and ^athe famine, whereof ye were afraid, ^†shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. ^17†So shall it be with all the men that ^yset their faces to go into…