Jeremiah Remains in Judah

40 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord after ^(A)Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from ^(B)Ramah, when he had taken him bound in ^(C)chains 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 ^(D)Lord your God promised this calamity against this place; ³ and the Lord has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people ^(E)sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you. ⁴ But now, behold, I am ^(F)freeing you today from the chains which are on your hands. If ^[a]you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will ^[b]look after you; but if ^[c]you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, ^[d]never mind. Look, the ^(G)whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.” ⁵ As ^[e]Jeremiah was still not going back, ^[f]he said, “Go on back then to ^(H)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has ^(I)appointed 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 ^(J)ration and a ^(K)gift and let him go. ⁶ Then Jeremiah went to ^(L)Mizpah to ^(M)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

^7 (N)Now all the ^[g]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 ^[h]children, those of the ^(O)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. ⁸ So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^(P)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and ^(Q)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the ^(R)Netophathite, and ^(S)Jezaniah the son of the ^(T)Maacathite, both they and their men. ⁹ Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(U)swore to them and to their men, saying, “^(V)Do 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 ^(W)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^(X)gather in wine and ^(Y)summer 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 ^(Z)Moab and among the sons of ^(AA)Ammon and in ^(AB)Edom and who were in all the other countries, 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 ^(AC)returned from all the places to which they had been driven away 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 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 ^(AD)Ammon 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, “^(AE)Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he ^(AF)take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^(AG)remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “^(AH)Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”

Ayin.

The Blessings of Redemption

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^[a](C)by the will of God,

To the ^[b](D)saints who are ^[c]at ^(E)Ephesus and ^(F)who are faithful in ^(G)Christ Jesus: ^2 (H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

^3 (I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in ^(J)the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as ^(K)He chose us in Him before ^(L)the foundation of the world, that we would be ^(M)holy and blameless before ^[d]Him. ^(N)In love ^5 [e]He ^(O)predestined us to ^(P)adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, ^(Q)according to the ^[f]kind intention of His will, ^6 (R)to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in ^(S)the Beloved. ^7 (T)In ^[g]Him we have ^(U)redemption ^(V)through His blood, the ^(W)forgiveness of our trespasses, according to ^(X)the riches of His grace ⁸ which He ^[h]lavished on ^[i]us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹ He ^[j](Y)made known to us the mystery of His will, ^(Z)according to His ^[k]kind intention which He ^(AA)purposed in Him ¹⁰ with a view to an administration ^[l]suitable to ^(AB)the fullness of the times, that is, ^(AC)the summing up of all things in Christ, things ^[m]in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him ^11 [n]also we ^[o](AD)have obtained an inheritance, having been ^(AE)predestined ^(AF)according to His purpose who works all things ^(AG)after the counsel of His will, ¹² to the end that we who were the first to hope in ^[p]Christ would be ^(AH)to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In ^[q]Him, you also, after listening to ^(AI)the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ^[r]believed, you were ^(AJ)sealed in ^[s]Him with ^(AK)the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is ^[t](AL)given as a pledge of ^(AM)our inheritance, with a view to the ^(AN)redemption of ^(AO)God’s own possession, ^(AP)to the praise of His glory.

¹⁵ For this reason I too, ^(AQ)having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and ^[u]your love for ^(AR)all the ^[v]saints, ^16 (AS)do not cease giving thanks for you, ^(AT)while making mention of you in my prayers; ¹⁷ that the ^(AU)God of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(AV)the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of ^(AW)wisdom and of ^(AX)revelation in the ^[w]knowledge of Him. ¹⁸ I pray that ^(AY)the eyes of your heart ^[x]may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the ^(AZ)hope of His ^(BA)calling, what are ^(BB)the riches of the glory of ^(BC)His inheritance in ^(BD)the ^[y]saints, ¹⁹ and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. ^(BE)These are in accordance with the working of the ^(BF)strength of His might ²⁰ which He brought about in Christ, when He ^(BG)raised Him from the dead and ^(BH)seated Him at His right hand in ^(BI)the heavenly places, ²¹ far above ^(BJ)all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every ^(BK)name that is named, not only in ^(BL)this age but also in the one to come. ²² And He ^(BM)put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as ^(BN)head over all things to the church, ²³ which is His ^(BO)body, the ^(BP)fullness of Him who ^(BQ)fills ^(BR)all in all.