Jeremiah 41

Chapter 41

The Murder of Gedaliah

1 But in midautumn,t Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and had been one of the king’s high officials, went to Mizpah with ten men to meet Gedaliah. While they were eating together,2 Ishmael and his ten men suddenly jumped up, drew their swords, and killed Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor.

3 Ishmael also killed all the Judeans and the Babyloniant soldiers who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.
4 The next day, before anyone had heard about Gedaliah’s murder,5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria to worship at the Temple of the LORD. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves, and had brought along grain offerings and frankincense.

6 Ishmael left Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he reached them, he said, “Oh, come and see what has happened to Gedaliah!”
7 But as soon as they were all inside the town, Ishmael and his men killed all but ten of them and threw their bodies into a cistern.8 The other ten had talked Ishmael into letting them go by promising to bring him their stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey that they had hidden away.

9 The cistern where Ishmael dumped the bodies of the men he murdered was the large one dug by King Asa when he fortified Mizpah to protect himself against King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with corpses.

10 Then Ishmael made captives of the king’s daughters and the other people who had been left under Gedaliah’s care in Mizpah by Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard. Taking them with him, he started back toward the land of Ammon.
11 But when Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders heard about Ishmael’s crimes,12 they took all their men and set out to stop him. They caught up with him at the large pool near Gibeon.13 The people Ishmael had captured shouted for joy when they saw Johanan and the other guerrilla leaders.14 And all the captives from Mizpah escaped and began to help Johanan.

15 Meanwhile, Ishmael and eight of his men escaped from Johanan into the land of Ammon.
16 Then Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders took all the people they had rescued in Gibeon—the soldiers, women, children, and court officialst whom Ishmael had captured after he killed Gedaliah.17 They took them all to the village of Geruth-kimham near Bethlehem, where they prepared to leave for Egypt.

18 They were afraid of what the Babylonianst would do when they heard that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonian king.

Jeremiah 42

Chapter 42

Warning to Stay in Judah

1 Then all the guerrilla leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniaht son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached2 Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the LORD your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before.

3 Pray that the LORD your God will show us what to do and where to go.”

4 “All right,” Jeremiah replied. “I will pray to the LORD your God, as you have asked, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you.”
5 Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do!

6 Whether we like it or not, we will obey the LORD our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”
7 Ten days later the LORD gave his reply to Jeremiah.8 So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest.9 He said to them, “You sent me to the LORD, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply:10 ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you.11 Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the LORD. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power.

12 I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’
13 “But if you refuse to obey the LORD your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here;14 instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’15 then hear the LORD’s message to the remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you are determined to go to Egypt and live there,16 the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there.

17 That is the fate awaiting every one of you who insists on going to live in Egypt. Yes, you will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you will escape the disaster I will bring upon you there.’

18 “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as my anger and fury have been poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so they will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. And you will never see your homeland again.’
19 “Listen, you remnant of Judah. The LORD has told you: ‘Do not go to Egypt!’ Don’t forget this warning I have given you today.20 For you were not being honest when you sent me to pray to the LORD your God for you. You said, ‘Just tell us what the LORD our God says, and we will do it!’21 And today I have told you exactly what he said, but you will not obey the LORD your God any better now than you have in the past.

22 So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.”

Jeremiah 43

Chapter 43

Jeremiah Taken to Egypt

1 When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the LORD their God to all the people,2 Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the other proud men said to Jeremiah, “You lie! The LORD our God hasn’t forbidden us to go to Egypt!

3 Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonianst or be carried off into exile.”
4 So Johanan and the other guerrilla leaders and all the people refused to obey the LORD’s command to stay in Judah.5 Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled.6 In the crowd were men, women, and children, the king’s daughters, and all those whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah. The prophet Jeremiah and Baruch were also included.

7 The people refused to obey the voice of the LORD and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.
8 Then at Tahpanhes, the LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,9 “While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes.10 Then say to the people of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring my servant Nebuchadnezzar,t king of Babylon, here to Egypt. I will set his throne over these stones that I have hidden. He will spread his royal canopy over them.11 And when he comes, he will destroy the land of Egypt. He will bring death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and war to those destined for war.12 He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed.

13 He will break down the sacred pillars standing in the temple of the sunt in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”