The 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. 2 And the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “^aYahweh your God promised this calamity against this place; 3 and 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.” 5 But 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. 6 Then Jeremiah went to ^aMizpah to ^bGedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who remained in the land.

7 ^aThen all the ¹commanders of the military forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land and that he had appointed him over the men, women, little ones, and those of the ^bpoorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. 8 So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^aIshmael the son of Nethaniah, and ^bJohanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the ^cNetophathite, and ^dJezaniah the son of the ^eMaacathite, both they and their men. 9 Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^aswore to them and to their men, saying, “^bDo not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, that it may go well with you. 10 Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to ^astand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^bgather in wine and ^csummer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels and stay in your cities that you have seized.” 11 And also all the Jews, who were in ^aMoab and among the sons of ^bAmmon and in ^cEdom and who were in all the other lands, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. 12 Then all the Jews ^areturned from all the places to which they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

13 Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the military forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14 and said to him, “Do you indeed know that Baalis the king of the sons of ^aAmmon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to strike down your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “^aLet me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he ^bstrike down your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^cremnant of Judah would perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “^aDo not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD 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. 2 Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, “The ^aLORD your God promised this disaster against this place; 3 and the LORD has brought it and done just as He promised. Because you people ^asinned against the LORD and did not listen to His voice, this thing has happened to you. 4 But now, behold, I am ^asetting you free today from the chains that are on your hands. If ¹you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will ²look after you; but if ³you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, ⁴do not come. Look, the ^bwhole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.” 5 As ¹Jeremiah was still not going back, ²he said, “Go on back 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 it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ^cration and a ^dgift, and let him go. 6 Then Jeremiah went to ^aMizpah to ^bGedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

7 ^aNow all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land, and that he had put him in charge of the men, women, and ¹children, those of the ^bpoorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. 8 So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^aIshmael the son of Nethaniah, ^bJohanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the ^cNetophathite, and ^dJezaniah the son of the ^eMaacathite, both they and their men. 9 Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^aswore to them and to their men, saying, “^bDo not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you. 10 Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to ^astand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^bgather wine, ^csummer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.” 11 Likewise, also all the Jews who were in ^aMoab and among the sons of ^bAmmon and in ^cEdom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had ¹left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. 12 Then all the Jews ^areturned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

13 Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, 14 and said to him, “Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of ^aAmmon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “^aLet me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he ^btake your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^cremnant of Judah would perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “^aDo not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”