⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve^(A) the Babylonians,^[a](B)” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.^{(C) 10} I myself will stay at Mizpah^(D) to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine,^(E) summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars,^(F) and live in the towns you have taken over.”^(G)

¹¹ When all the Jews in Moab,^(H) Ammon, Edom^(I) and all the other countries^(J) 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.^(K) And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.

¹⁸ “Son of man, tremble as you eat your food,^(A) and shudder in fear as you drink your water. ¹⁹ Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything^(B) in it because of the violence of all who live there.^(C)

¹⁶ He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off^(A) the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,^{(B) 17} for food and water will be scarce.^(C) They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of^[a] their sin.^(D)

¹⁶ then the sword^(A) you fear^(B) will overtake you there, and the famine^(C) you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.^(D)