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 ^(A)well with you.

¹¹ But the nations that bring their necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let them remain in their own land,’ says the Lord, ‘and they shall till it and dwell in it.’ ” ’ ”

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you surely ^(A)surrender^{[a] (B)}to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. ¹⁸ But if you do not ^[b]surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and ^(C)you shall not escape from their hand.’ ”

¹⁹ And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have ^(D)defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they ^(E)abuse me.”

²⁰ But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be ^(F)well with you, and your soul shall live.

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.”

¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the ^[a]house of David, saying, ^(A)“Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”

¹⁷ Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; ^(B)for he loved him as he loved his own soul.