Jeremiah 40–44

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 and faithful^s witness^t against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. ⁶Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well^u with us, for we will obey^v the Lord our God.”

⁷Ten days later the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. ⁸So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers^w who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest.^{x 9}He said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition,^y says:^{z 10}‘If you stay in this land,^a I will build^b you up and not tear you down; I will plant^c you and not uproot you,^d for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you.^{e 11}Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon,^f whom you now fear.^g Do not be afraid of him, declares the Lord, for I am with you and will save^h you and deliver you from his hands.^{i 12}I will show you compassion^j so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.’^k

¹³“However, if you say, ‘We will not stay in this land,’ and so disobey^l the Lord your God, ¹⁴and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt,^m where we will not see war or hear the trumpetⁿ or be hungry for bread,’^{o 15}then hear the word of the Lord,^p you remnant of Judah. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, ¹⁶then the sword^q you fear^r will overtake you there, and the famine^s you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.^{t 17}Indeed, all who are determined to go to Egypt to settle there will die by the sword, famine and plague;^u not one of them will survive or escape the disaster I will bring on them.’ ¹⁸This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘As my anger and wrath^v have been poured out on those who lived in Jerusalem,^w so will my wrath be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You will be a curse^bx and an object of horror,^y a curse^c and an object of reproach;^z you will never see this place again.’^a

¹⁹“Remnant^b of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’^c Be sure of this: I warn you today ²⁰that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’^{d 21}I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you.^{e 22}So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine^f and plague^g in the place where you want to go to settle.”^h

43When Jeremiah had finished telling the people all the words of the Lord their God—everything the Lord had sent him to tell themⁱ—²Azariah son of Hoshaiah^j and Johanan^k son of Kareah and all the…