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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 had taken him bound in chains among all who were carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive unto Babylon.

And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said unto him, “The Lord thy God hath pronounced this evil upon this place.

Now the Lord hath brought it, and done according as He hath said: because ye have sinned against the Lord and have not obeyed His voice, therefore this thing has come upon you.

And now behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come, and I will look well after thee; but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear. Behold, all the land is before thee. Wherever it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go.”

Now while he had not yet gone back, he said, “Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward and let him go.

Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land.

Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men and women and children, and the poor of the land of those who were not carried away captive to Babylon,

then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah — even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.

And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore unto them and to their men, saying, “Fear not to serve the Chaldeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.

10 As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans, who will come unto us; but ye, gather ye wine and summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken.”

11 Likewise when all the Jews who were in Moab, and among the Ammonites and in Edom, and who were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,

12 even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits in abundance.

13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

14 and said unto him, “Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee?” But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.

15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, “Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it. Why should he slay thee, that all the Jews who are gathered unto thee should be scattered and the remnant in Judah perish?”

16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, “Thou shalt not do this thing, for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.”

41 Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed and the princes of the king, came with ten men unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they ate bread together in Mizpah.

Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and slew him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Ishmael also slew all the Jews who were with him, even with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there and the men of war.

And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it,

that there came certain ones from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven and their clothes rent and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand to bring them to the house of the Lord.

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and it came to pass as he met them, he said unto them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.”

And it was so when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them and cast them into the midst of the pit, he and the men who were with him.

But ten men were found among them who said unto Ishmael, “Slay us not; for we have treasures in the field of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey.” So he forbore, and slew them not among their brethren.

Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was that which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel; and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with those who were slain.

10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people who were in Mizpah, even the king’s daughters and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.

11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

12 then they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.

13 Now it came to pass, that when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then they were glad.

14 So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.

15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.

16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam — even mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs whom he had brought again from Gibeon.

17 And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,

18 because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.

42 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near

and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, “Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the Lord thy God, even for all this remnant (for we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us),

that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk and the thing that we may do.”

Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, “I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words, and it shall come to pass that whatsoever thing the Lord shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.”

Then they said to Jeremiah, “The Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do even according to all things for which the Lord thy God shall send thee to us.

Whether it be good or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send thee, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

And it came to pass after ten days that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah.

Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

and said unto them, “Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before Him:

10 ‘If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up; for I repent of the evil that I have done unto you.

11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord, for I am with you to save you and to deliver you from his hand.

12 And I will show mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you and cause you to return to your own land.’

13 “But if ye say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ neither obey the voice of the Lord your God,

14 saying, ‘No, but we will go into the land of Egypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger for bread, and there will we dwell’—

15 and now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah! Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there,

16 then it shall come to pass that the sword which ye feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine whereof ye were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.

17 So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there. They shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.’

18 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘As Mine anger and My fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall My fury be poured forth upon you when ye shall enter into Egypt. And ye shall be an execration and an astonishment, and a curse and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.’

19 “The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah: ‘Go ye not into Egypt!’ Know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

20 For ye dissembled in your hearts when ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us unto the Lord our God; and according unto all that the Lord our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we will do it.’

21 And now I have this day declared it to you, but ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God, nor any thing for which He hath sent me unto you.

22 Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence in the place whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.”