¹⁴ then they sent someone ^(A)to take Jeremiah from the court of the prison, and committed him ^(B)to Gedaliah the son of ^(C)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should take him home. So he dwelt among the people.

²⁸ Now ^(A)Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.

²⁴ Nevertheless ^(A)the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.

Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah^(A)

²² Then he made Gedaliah the son of ^(B)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, governor over ^(C)the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left. ²³ Now when all the ^(D)captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan the son of Careah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and ^[a]Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. ²⁴ And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”

²⁵ But ^(E)it happened in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck and killed Gedaliah, the Jews, as well as the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.

¹² Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, ^(A)Ahikam the son of Shaphan, ^[a]Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying,

Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor^(A)

40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord ^(B)after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive from Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.

² And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and ^(C)said to him: “The Lord your God has pronounced this doom on this place. ³ Now the Lord has brought it, and has done just as He said. ^(D)Because you people have sinned against the Lord, and not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you. ⁴ And now look, I free you this day from the chains that ^[a]were on your hand. ^(E)If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, ^(F)all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there.”

⁵ Now while Jeremiah had not yet gone back, Nebuzaradan said, “Go back to ^(G)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(H)whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people. Or go wherever it seems convenient for you to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him rations and a gift and let him go. ^6 (I)Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to ^(J)Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.

^7 (K)And when all the captains of the armies who were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to him men, women, children, and ^(L)the poorest of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon, ⁸ then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—^(M)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(N)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and ^(O)Jezaniah^[b] the son of a ^(P)Maachathite, they and their men. ⁹ And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath before them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be ^(Q)well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹ Likewise, when all the Jews who were in Moab, among the Ammonites, in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ¹² then all the Jews ^(R)returned out of all places where they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.

¹³ Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, ¹⁴ and said to him, ^[c]“Do you certainly know that ^(S)Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵ Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, please, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he murder you, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered, and the ^(T)remnant in Judah perish?”

¹⁶ But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael.”

Insurrection Against Gedaliah

41 Now it came to pass in the seventh month ^(U)that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[d]family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^(V)Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah. ² Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and ^(W)struck Gedaliah the son of ^(X)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made ^(Y)governor over the land. ³ Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

¹⁵ Meanwhile the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

¹³ So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained ^(A)in the court of the prison.

²¹ Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah ^(A)to the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread from the bakers’ street, ^(B)until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.