Jeremiah 40:1–6

Jeremiah Stays in Judah

¹The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after ^aNebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from ^bRamah, when he had taken him bound in ^cchains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.

²And the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “^aYahweh your God promised this calamity against this place;

³and Yahweh has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people ^asinned against Yahweh and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you.

⁴“So now, behold, I am ^afreeing you today from the chains which are on your hands. If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will set my eyes to look after you; but if it ¹is displeasing in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, ²never mind. Look, the ^bwhole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right in your eyes to go.”

⁵But as ¹Jeremiah had not yet set out to return, ²he said, “Return then to ^aGedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has ^bappointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere that is right in your eyes to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ^cration and a ^dgift and let him go.

⁶Then Jeremiah went to ^aMizpah to ^bGedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.