Jeremiah 39–43

39In the ninth year of Zedekiah^w king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar^x king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege^y to it. ²And on the ninth day of the fourth^z month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall^a was broken through.^{b 3}Then all the officials^c of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. ⁴When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls,^d and headed toward the Arabah.^ae

⁵But the Babylonian^b army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah^f in the plains of Jericho. They captured^g him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah^h in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. ⁶There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the noblesⁱ of Judah. ⁷Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes^j and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.^k

⁸The Babylonians^c set fire^l to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls^m of Jerusalem. ⁹Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him,ⁿ and the rest of the people.^{o 10}But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.

¹¹Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: ¹²“Take him and look after him; don’t harm^p him but do for him whatever he asks.” ¹³So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers^q of the king of Babylon ¹⁴sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard.^r They turned him over to Gedaliah^s son of Ahikam,^t the son of Shaphan,^u to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.^v

¹⁵While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him: ¹⁶“Go and tell Ebed-Melek^w the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words^x against this city—words concerning disaster,^y not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. ¹⁷But I will rescue^z you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear. ¹⁸I will save^a you; you will not fall by the sword^b but will escape with your life,^c because you trust^d in me, declares the Lord.’ ”

Jeremiah Freed

40The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah.^e He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives^f from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. ²When the commander^g of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The Lord your God decreed^h this disasterⁱ for this place.^{j 3}And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned^k against the Lord and did not obey^l him. ⁴But today I am freeing^m you from the chainsⁿ on your wrists. Come with me to Babylon, if you like, and I will look after you; but if you do not want to, then don’t come. Look, the whole country lies before you; go wherever you please.”^{o 5}However, before Jeremiah turned to go,^a Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah^p son of Ahikam,^q the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed^r over the towns^s of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please.”^t

Then the commander gave him provisions and a present^u and let him go. ⁶So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah^v and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.

Gedaliah Assassinated

40:7–9; 41:1–3pp—2Ki 25:22–26

⁷When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor^w over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest^x in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, ⁸they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah^y—Ishmael^z son of Nethaniah, Johanan^a and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite,^b and Jaazaniah^b the son of the Maakathite,^c and their men. ⁹Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve^d the Babylonians,^ce” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.^{f 10}I myself will stay at Mizpah^g to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine,^h summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars,ⁱ and live in the towns you have taken over.”^j

¹¹When all the Jews in Moab,^k Ammon, Edom^l and all the other countries^m heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ¹²they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered.ⁿ And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.

¹³Johanan^o son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah^{p 14}and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites^q has sent Ishmael^r son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵Then Johanan^s son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, “Let me go and kill^t Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered^u and the remnant^v of Judah to perish?”

¹⁶But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan^w son of Kareah, “Don’t do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true.”

41In the seventh month Ishmael^x son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, ²Ishmael^y son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword,^z killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed^a as governor over the land.^{b 3}Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian^a soldiers who were there.

⁴The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it, ⁵eighty men who had shaved off their beards,^c torn their clothes^d and cut^e themselves came from Shechem,^f Shiloh^g and Samaria,^h bringing grain offerings and incenseⁱ with them to the house of the Lord.^{j 6}Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping^k as he went. When he met them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.”^{l 7}When they went into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.^{m 8}But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field.”ⁿ So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others. ⁹Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa^o had made as part of his defense^p against Baasha^q king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

¹⁰Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people^r who were in Mizpah—the king’s daughters^s along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.^t

¹¹When Johanan^u son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, ¹²they took all their men and went to fight^v Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool^w in Gibeon. ¹³When all the people^x Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad. ¹⁴All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah^y turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. ¹⁵But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped^z from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.

Flight to Egypt

¹⁶Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers^a who were with him led away all the people of Mizpah who had survived,^b whom Johanan had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam—the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had recovered from Gibeon. ¹⁷And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham^c near Bethlehem^d on their way to Egypt^{e 18}to escape the Babylonians.^b They were afraid^f of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah^g son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.

42Then all the army officers, including Johanan^h son of Kareah and Jezaniah^a son of Hoshaiah,ⁱ and all the people from the least to the greatest^j approached ²Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, “Please hear our petition and pray^k to the Lord your God for this entire remnant.^l For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few^m are left. ³Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.”ⁿ

⁴“I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet. “I will certainly pray^o to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell^p you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you.”^q

⁵Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true^r…