¹The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, after Nebuzaradan the chief of the butchers let him go from Ramah, when he took him, while he was bound in chains in the middle of all the exile of Jerusalem and Judah, who were being taken into exile to Babylon.

²The chief of the butchers took Jeremiah and said to him, "Yahweh your God spoke this evil against this place."

³And Yahweh has brought it and done it, just as he spoke, because you sinned against Yahweh and did not listen to his voice; so this word has happened to you.

⁴And now, look, today I have loosed you from the chains that are on your hands. If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will set my eye on you; but if it is displeasing in your eyes to come with me to Babylon, leave off. See, all the land is before you: wherever it is good and right in your eyes to go, go there.

⁵And while he still had not turned back: Return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him in the middle of the people; or go wherever it is right in your eyes to go. And the chief of the butchers gave him a food allowance and a gift, and let him go.

⁶And Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelled with him in the middle of the people who were left in the land

⁷And all the captains of the armies who 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 entrusted to him men and women and children, from the poor of the land, from those who had not been taken into exile to Babylon.

⁸And they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah: 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 the Maacathite, they and their men.

⁹And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore an oath to them and to their men, saying, "Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.

¹⁰As for me, look, I am dwelling at Mizpah to stand before the Chaldeans who come to us; but you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have seized."

¹¹And also all the Judahites who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom, and who were in all the lands, heard that the king of Babylon had given a remnant to Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan.

¹²And all the Judahites returned from all the places where they had been driven away, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah; and they gathered wine and summer fruit in very great amounts.

¹³And Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the armies who were in the field, came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.

¹⁴And they said to him, "Do you indeed know that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to strike down your living being?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

¹⁵And Johanan the son of Kareah said to Gedaliah in secret at Mizpah, "Please let me go, and let me strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know. Why should he strike down your living being, so that all Judah who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?"

¹⁶But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not act on this word, for you are speaking falsehood concerning Ishmael."