Jeremiah 40:7-43

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

⁷ When all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam 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, ⁸ they went to Gedali′ah at Mizpah—Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah, Serai′ah the son of Tanhu′meth, the sons of Ephai the Netoph′athite, Jezani′ah the son of the Ma-ac′athite, they and their men. ⁹ Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chalde′ans. Dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand for you before the Chalde′ans who will come to us; but as for you, gather wine and summer fruits and oil, and store them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.” ¹¹ Likewise, when all the Jews 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 Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ¹² then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedali′ah at Mizpah; and they gathered wine and summer fruits in great abundance.

¹³ Now Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces in the open country came to Gedali′ah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and said to him, “Do you know that Ba′alis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah to take your life?” But Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam would not believe them. ¹⁵ Then Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah spoke secretly to Gedali′ah at Mizpah, “Let me go and slay Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?” ¹⁶ But Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam said to Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ish′mael.”

Insurrection against Gedaliah

41 In the seventh month, Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, son of Elish′ama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, ² Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. ³ Ish′mael also slew all the Jews who were with Gedali′ah at Mizpah, and the Chalde′an soldiers who happened to be there.

⁴ On the day after the murder of Gedali′ah, before any one knew of it, ⁵ eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samar′ia, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing cereal offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. ⁶ And Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam.” ⁷ When they came into the city, Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah and the men with him slew them, and cast them into a cistern. ⁸ But there were ten men among them who said to Ish′mael, “Do not kill us, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not kill them with their companions.

⁹ Now the cistern into which Ish′mael cast all the bodies of the men whom he had slain was the large cistern^[a] which King Asa had made for defense against Ba′asha king of Israel; Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah filled it with the slain. ¹⁰ Then Ish′mael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebu′zarad′an, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam. Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil which Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had done, ¹² they took all their men and went to fight against Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah. They came upon him at the great pool which is in Gib′eon. ¹³ And when all the people who were with Ish′mael saw Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. ¹⁴ So all the people whom Ish′mael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah. ¹⁵ But Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah escaped from Joha′nan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. ¹⁶ Then Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him took all the rest of the people whom Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had carried away captive^[b] from Mizpah after he had slain Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Joha′nan brought back from Gib′eon. ¹⁷ And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt ¹⁸ because of the Chalde′ans; for they were afraid of them, because Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had slain Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Jeremiah Advises Survivors Not to Migrate

42 Then all the commanders of the forces, and Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and Azari′ah^[c] the son of Hoshai′ah, and all the people from the least to the greatest, came near ² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our supplication come before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, for all this remnant (for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes see us), ³ that the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” ⁴ Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you; behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you; I will keep nothing back from you.” ⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act according to all the word with which the Lord your God sends you to us. ⁶ Whether it is good or evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

⁷ At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. ⁸ Then he summoned Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest, ⁹ and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him: ¹⁰ If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent of the evil which I did to you. ¹¹ Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not fear him, says the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. ¹² I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. ¹³ But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God ¹⁴ and saying, ‘No, we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war, or hear the sound of the trumpet, or be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ ¹⁵ then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter Egypt and go to live there, ¹⁶ then the sword which you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow hard after you to Egypt; and there you shall die. ¹⁷ All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; they shall have no remnant or survivor from the evil which I will bring upon them.

¹⁸ “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. ¹⁹ The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day ²⁰ that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says declare to us and we will do it.’ ²¹ And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything that he sent me to tell you. ²² Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.”

Taken to Egypt, Jeremiah Warns of Judgment

43 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, ² Azari′ah the son of Hoshai′ah and Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there’; ³ but Baruch the son of Neri′ah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chalde′ans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” ⁴ So Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. ⁵ But Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— ⁶ the men, the women, the children, the princesses, and every person whom Nebu′zarad′an the captain of the guard had left with Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neri′ah. ⁷ And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at Tah′panhes.