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Jeremiah 37-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jeremiah 37-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Zedekiah’s Vain Hope
37 Zedekiah son of Josiah, whom King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made king in the land of Judah, succeeded Coniah son of Jehoiakim.(A) 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through the prophet Jeremiah.(B)
3 King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God.”(C) 4 Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 Meanwhile, the army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt, and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.(D)
6 Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah: 7 Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: This is what you shall say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Pharaoh’s army, which set out to help you, is going to return to its own land, to Egypt.(E) 8 And the Chaldeans shall return and fight against this city; they shall take it and burn it with fire.(F) 9 Thus says the Lord: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away.(G) 10 Even if you defeated the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you and there remained of them only wounded men in their tents, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.(H)
Jeremiah Is Imprisoned
11 Now when the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to receive his share of property[a] among the people there. 13 When he reached the Benjamin Gate, a sentinel there named Irijah son of Shelemiah son of Hananiah arrested the prophet Jeremiah saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”(I) 14 And Jeremiah said, “That is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him and arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 The officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him and imprisoned him in the house of the secretary Jonathan, for it had been made a prison.(J) 16 Thus Jeremiah was put in the cistern house, in the cells, and remained there many days.(K)
17 Then King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You shall be handed over to the king of Babylon.”(L) 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, that you have put me in prison?(M) 19 Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’?(N) 20 Now please hear me, my lord king: be good enough to listen to my plea, and do not send me back to the house of the secretary Jonathan to die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guard, and a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.(O)
Jeremiah in the Cistern
38 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people:(P) 2 “Thus says the Lord: Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war and live.(Q) 3 Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.”(R) 4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to be put to death because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city and all the people by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.”(S) 5 King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he is in your hands, for the king is powerless against you.”(T) 6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.(U)
Jeremiah Is Rescued by Ebed-melech
7 Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate,(V) 8 So Ebed-melech left the king’s house and spoke to the king, 9 “My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.”(W) 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take three[b] men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe of[c] the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Just put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up by the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.(X)
Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah Again
14 King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I have something to ask you; do not hide anything from me.”(Y) 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, you will put me to death, will you not? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”(Z) 16 So King Zedekiah swore an oath in secret to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who gave us our lives, I will not put you to death or hand you over to these men who seek your life.”(AA)
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will only surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.(AB) 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be handed over to the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand.”(AC) 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for I might be handed over to them, and they would abuse me.”(AD) 20 Jeremiah said, “That will not happen. Just obey the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall go well with you, and your life shall be spared.(AE) 21 But if you are determined not to surrender, this is what the Lord has shown me: 22 a vision of all the women remaining in the house of the king of Judah being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and saying,
‘Your trusted friends have seduced you
and have overcome you.
Now that your feet are stuck in the mud,
they desert you.’(AF)
23 “All your wives and your children shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”(AG)
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone else know of this conversation, or you will die. 25 If the officials should hear that I have spoken with you and come and say to you, ‘Just tell us what you said to the king; do not conceal it from us, or we will put you to death. What did the king say to you?’(AH) 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I was presenting my plea to the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’ ”(AI) 27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and questioned him, and he answered them in the very words the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, for the conversation had not been overheard.(AJ) 28 And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken.(AK)
The Fall of Jerusalem
39 This is how Jerusalem was captured:[d] in the ninth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the tenth month, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it;(AL) 2 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city.(AM) 3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate: Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, with all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.(AN) 4 When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled, going out of the city at night by way of the King’s Garden through the gate between the two walls, and they went toward the Arabah.(AO) 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and when they had taken him, they brought him up to King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him.(AP) 6 The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes; also the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah.(AQ) 7 He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in fetters to take him to Babylon.(AR) 8 The Chaldeans burned with fire the king’s house and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.(AS) 9 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard exiled to Babylon the rest of the people who were left in the city, those who had deserted to him, and the rest of the people who remained.(AT) 10 Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poor people who owned nothing and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.(AU)
Jeremiah, Set Free, Remembers Ebed-melech
11 King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon gave command concerning Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying,(AV) 12 “Take him, look after him well, and do him no harm, but deal with him as he may ask you.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon sent 14 and took Jeremiah from the court of the guard. They entrusted him to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan to be brought home. So he stayed with his own people.(AW)
15 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court of the guard: 16 Go and say to Ebed-melech the Cushite: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to fulfill my words against this city for evil and not for good, and they shall be accomplished in your presence on that day.(AX) 17 But I will save you on that day, says the Lord, and you shall not be handed over to those whom you dread.(AY) 18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have trusted in me, says the Lord.(AZ)
Jeremiah with Gedaliah the Governor
40 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he took him bound in fetters along with all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.(BA) 2 The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, “The Lord your God threatened this place with this disaster,(BB) 3 and now the Lord has brought it about and has done as he said, because all of you sinned against the Lord and did not obey his voice. Therefore this thing has come upon you.(BC) 4 Now look, I have just released you today from the fetters on your hands. If you wish to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take good care of you, but if you do not wish to come with me to Babylon, you need not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go.(BD) 5 If you remain,[e] then return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the towns of Judah, and stay with him among the people, or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present and let him go.(BE) 6 Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.(BF)
7 When all the leaders of the forces in the open country and their troops heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men, women, and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been taken into exile to Babylon,(BG) 8 they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan[f] son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ophai the Netophathite, Jezaniah son of the Maacathite, they and their troops.(BH) 9 Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan swore to them and their troops, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall go well with you. 10 As for me, I am staying at Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us, but as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and live in the towns that you have taken over.”(BI) 11 Likewise, when all the Judeans who were in Moab and among the Ammonites and in Edom and in other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan as governor over them,(BJ) 12 then all the Judeans returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.(BK)
13 Now Johanan son of Kareah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah(BL) 14 and said to him, “Are you at all aware that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam would not believe them.(BM) 15 Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one else will know. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered around you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?”(BN) 16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Do not do such a thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”(BO)
Jeremiah 37-40
New International Version
Jeremiah 37-40
New International Version
Jeremiah in Prison
37 Zedekiah(A) son of Josiah was made king(B) of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he reigned in place of Jehoiachin[a](C) son of Jehoiakim. 2 Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention(D) to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 King Zedekiah, however, sent(E) Jehukal(F) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah(G) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray(H) to the Lord our God for us.”
4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.(I) 5 Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt,(J) and when the Babylonians[b] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew(K) from Jerusalem.(L)
6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(M) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched(N) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.(O) 8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture(P) it and burn(Q) it down.’
9 “This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive(R) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! 10 Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian[c] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn(S) this city down.”
11 After the Babylonian army had withdrawn(T) from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property(U) among the people there. 13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate,(V) the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”(W)
14 “That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested(X) Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten(Y) and imprisoned(Z) in the house(AA) of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.
16 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah sent(AB) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked(AC) him privately,(AD) “Is there any word from the Lord?”
“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered(AE) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”
18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime(AF) have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets(AG) who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? 20 But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.”(AH)
21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread(AI) in the city was gone.(AJ) So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.(AK)
Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern
38 Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur(AL), Jehukal[d](AM) son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague,(AN) but whoever goes over to the Babylonians[e] will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’(AO) 3 And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”(AP)
4 Then the officials(AQ) said to the king, “This man should be put to death.(AR) He is discouraging(AS) the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”
5 “He is in your hands,”(AT) King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing(AU) to oppose you.”
6 So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard.(AV) They lowered Jeremiah by ropes(AW) into the cistern; it had no water in it,(AX) only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.(AY)
7 But Ebed-Melek,(AZ) a Cushite,[f] an official[g](BA) in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,(BB) 8 Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern,(BC) where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread(BD) in the city.”
10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes(BE) to Jeremiah in the cistern. 12 Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, 13 and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.(BF)
Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again
14 Then King Zedekiah sent(BG) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide(BH) anything from me.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”
16 But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly(BI) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,(BJ) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”(BK)
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender(BL) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.(BM) 18 But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands(BN) of the Babylonians and they will burn(BO) it down; you yourself will not escape(BP) from them.’”
19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid(BQ) of the Jews who have gone over(BR) to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”
20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey(BS) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well(BT) with you, and your life(BU) will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: 22 All the women(BV) left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:
“‘They misled you and overcame you—
those trusted friends(BW) of yours.
Your feet are sunk in the mud;(BX)
your friends have deserted you.’
23 “All your wives and children(BY) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape(BZ) from their hands but will be captured(CA) by the king of Babylon; and this city will[h] be burned down.”(CB)
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know(CC) about this conversation, or you may die. 25 If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ 26 then tell(CD) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house(CE) to die there.’”
27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.
28 And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard(CF) until the day Jerusalem was captured.
The Fall of Jerusalem(CG)
This is how Jerusalem(CH) was taken: 39 1 In the ninth year of Zedekiah(CI) king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar(CJ) king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege(CK) to it. 2 And on the ninth day of the fourth(CL) month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall(CM) was broken through.(CN) 3 Then all the officials(CO) of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. 4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls,(CP) and headed toward the Arabah.[i](CQ)
5 But the Babylonian[j] army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah(CR) in the plains of Jericho. They captured(CS) him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah(CT) in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles(CU) of Judah. 7 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes(CV) and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.(CW)
8 The Babylonians[k] set fire(CX) to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls(CY) of Jerusalem. 9 Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him,(CZ) and the rest of the people.(DA) 10 But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: 12 “Take him and look after him; don’t harm(DB) him but do for him whatever he asks.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers(DC) of the king of Babylon 14 sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard.(DD) They turned him over to Gedaliah(DE) son of Ahikam,(DF) the son of Shaphan,(DG) to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.(DH)
15 While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him: 16 “Go and tell Ebed-Melek(DI) the Cushite, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words(DJ) against this city—words concerning disaster,(DK) not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. 17 But I will rescue(DL) you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear. 18 I will save(DM) you; you will not fall by the sword(DN) but will escape with your life,(DO) because you trust(DP) in me, declares the Lord.’”
Jeremiah Freed
40 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah.(DQ) He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives(DR) from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon. 2 When the commander(DS) of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The Lord your God decreed(DT) this disaster(DU) for this place.(DV) 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(DW) against the Lord and did not obey(DX) him. 4 But today I am freeing(DY) you from the chains(DZ) 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.”(EA) 5 However, before Jeremiah turned to go,[l] Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah(EB) son of Ahikam,(EC) the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed(ED) over the towns(EE) of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please.”(EF)
Then the commander gave him provisions and a present(EG) and let him go. 6 So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah(EH) and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land.
Gedaliah Assassinated(EI)
7 When 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(EJ) over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest(EK) in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, 8 they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah(EL)—Ishmael(EM) son of Nethaniah, Johanan(EN) and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite,(EO) and Jaazaniah[m] the son of the Maakathite,(EP) and their men. 9 Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve(EQ) the Babylonians,[n](ER)” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.(ES) 10 I myself will stay at Mizpah(ET) to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine,(EU) summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars,(EV) and live in the towns you have taken over.”(EW)
11 When all the Jews in Moab,(EX) Ammon, Edom(EY) and all the other countries(EZ) 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, 12 they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered.(FA) And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.
13 Johanan(FB) son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah(FC) 14 and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites(FD) has sent Ishmael(FE) son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.
15 Then Johanan(FF) son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, “Let me go and kill(FG) 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(FH) and the remnant(FI) of Judah to perish?”
16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan(FJ) son of Kareah, “Don’t do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 37:1 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 37:5 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 8, 9, 13 and 14
- Jeremiah 37:10 Or Chaldean; also in verse 11
- Jeremiah 38:1 Hebrew Jukal, a variant of Jehukal
- Jeremiah 38:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 18, 19 and 23
- Jeremiah 38:7 Probably from the upper Nile region
- Jeremiah 38:7 Or a eunuch
- Jeremiah 38:23 Or and you will cause this city to
- Jeremiah 39:4 Or the Jordan Valley
- Jeremiah 39:5 Or Chaldean
- Jeremiah 39:8 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 40:5 Or Jeremiah answered
- Jeremiah 40:8 Hebrew Jezaniah, a variant of Jaazaniah
- Jeremiah 40:9 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 10
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