^7 (A)Now all the 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 ^[a]children, those of the ^(B)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. ⁸ So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^(C)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(D)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the ^(E)Netophathite, and ^(F)Jezaniah the son of the ^(G)Maacathite, both they and their men. ⁹ Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(H)swore to them and to their men, saying, “^(I)Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you. ¹⁰ Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to ^(J)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^(K)gather wine, ^(L)summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.”