Jeremiah 40-43 - Prayer Tents

40The Lord gave a message to Jeremiah after Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the other captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being sent to exile in Babylon.H1697H3414H3068H310H5018H7227H2876H7971H7414H3947H631H246H8432H1546H3389H3063H1540H894 2The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, “The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land,H7227H2876H3947H3414H559H3068H430H1696H7451H4725 3just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened.H3068H935H6213H1696H2398H3068H8085H6963H1697 4But I am going to take off your chains and let you go. If you want to come with me to Babylon, you are welcome. I will see that you are well cared for. But if you don’t want to come, you may stay here. The whole land is before you—go wherever you like.H6605H3117H246H3027H2896H5869H935H894H935H7760H5869H7489H5869H935H894H2308H7200H776H6440H413H2896H3477H5869H3212H3212 5If you decide to stay, then return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. He has been appointed governor of Judah by the king of Babylon. Stay there with the people he rules. But it’s up to you; go wherever you like.” Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, gave Jeremiah some food and money and let him go.H7725H7725H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H4428H894H6485H5892H3063H3427H8432H5971H3212H3477H5869H3212H7227H2876H5414H737H4864H7971 6So Jeremiah returned to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and he lived in Judah with the few who were still left in the land.H935H3414H1436H1121H296H4708H3427H8432H5971H7604H776

Gedaliah Governs in Judah

7The leaders of the Judean guerrilla bands in the countryside heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor over the poor people who were left behind in Judah—the men, women, and children who hadn’t been exiled to Babylon.H8269H2428H7704H582H8085H4428H894H1436H1121H296H6485H776H6485H582H802H2945H1803H776H1540H894 8So they went to see Gedaliah at Mizpah. These included: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jezaniah son of the Maacathite, and all their men.H935H1436H4708H3458H1121H5418H3110H3129H1121H7143H8304H1121H8576H1121H5778H5200H3153H1121H4602H582 9Gedaliah vowed to them that the Babylonians meant them no harm. “Don’t be afraid to serve them. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you,” he promised.H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H7650H582H559H3372H5647H3778H3427H776H5647H4428H894H3190 10“As for me, I will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to meet with us. Settle in the towns you have taken, and live off the land. Harvest the grapes and summer fruits and olives, and store them away.”H3427H4709H5975H6440H3778H935H622H3196H7019H8081H7760H3627H3427H5892H8610 11When the Judeans in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and the other nearby countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few people in Judah and that Gedaliah was the governor,H3064H4124H5983H123H776H8085H4428H894H5414H7611H3063H6485H1436H1121H296H1121H8227 12they began to return to Judah from the places to which they had fled. They stopped at Mizpah to meet with Gedaliah and then went into the Judean countryside to gather a great harvest of grapes and other crops.H3064H7725H4725H5080H935H776H3063H1436H4708H622H3196H7019H3966H7235

A Plot against Gedaliah

13Soon after this, Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H7704H935H1436H4708 14They said to him, “Did you know that Baalis, king of Ammon, has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to assassinate you?” But Gedaliah refused to believe them.H559H3045H3045H1185H4428H1121H5983H7971H3458H1121H5418H5221H5315H1436H1121H296H539 15Later Johanan had a private conference with Gedaliah and volunteered to kill Ishmael secretly. “Why should we let him come and murder you?” Johanan asked. “What will happen then to the Judeans who have returned? Why should the few of us who are still left be scattered and lost?”H3110H1121H7143H559H1436H4709H5643H559H3212H5221H3458H1121H5418H376H3045H5221H5315H3064H6908H6327H7611H3063H6 16But Gedaliah said to Johanan, “I forbid you to do any such thing, for you are lying about Ishmael.”H1436H1121H296H559H3110H1121H7143H6213H1697H1696H8267H3458

The Murder of Gedaliah

41But in midautumn, 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,H7637H2320H3458H1121H5418H1121H476H2233H4410H7227H4428H6235H582H935H1436H1121H296H4709H398H3899H3162H47082Ishmael and his ten men suddenly jumped up, drew their swords, and killed Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor.H6965H3458H1121H5418H6235H582H5221H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H2719H4191H4428H894H6485H7763Ishmael also killed all the Judeans and the Babylonian soldiers who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.H3458H5221H3064H1436H4709H3778H4672H582H44214The next day, before anyone had heard about Gedaliah’s murder,H8145H3117H4191H1436H376H30455eighty 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.H935H582H7927H7887H8111H8084H376H2206H1548H899H7167H1413H4503H3828H3027H935H1004H30686Ishmael left Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he reached them, he said, “Oh, come and see what has happened to Gedaliah!”H3458H1121H5418H3318H4709H7125H1058H1980H1980H6298H559H935H1436H1121H2967But 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.H935H8432H5892H3458H1121H5418H7819H8432H953H5828The 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.H6235H582H4672H559H3458H4191H3426H4301H7704H2406H8184H8081H1706H2308H4191H8432H2519The 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.H953H3458H7993H6297H582H5221H3027H1436H609H4428H6213H6440H1201H4428H3478H3458H1121H5418H4390H249110Then 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.H3458H7617H7611H5971H4709H4428H1323H5971H7604H4709H5018H7227H2876H6485H1436H1121H296H3458H1121H5418H7617H3212H5674H1121H598311But when Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders heard about Ishmael’s crimes,H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H8085H7451H3458H1121H5418H621312they took all their men and set out to stop him. They caught up with him at the large pool near Gibeon.H3947H582H3212H3898H3458H1121H5418H4672H7227H4325H139113The people Ishmael had captured shouted for joy when they saw Johanan and the other guerrilla leaders.H5971H3458H7200H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H805514And all the captives from Mizpah escaped and began to help Johanan.H5971H3458H7617H4709H5437H7725H3212H3110H1121H714315Meanwhile, Ishmael and eight of his men escaped from Johanan into the land of Ammon.H3458H1121H5418H4422H6440H3110H8083H582H3212H1121H598316Then Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders took all the people they had rescued in Gibeon—the soldiers, women, children, and court officials whom Ishmael had captured after he killed Gedaliah.H3947H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H7611H5971H7725H3458H1121H5418H4709H310H5221H1436H1121H296H1397H582H4421H802H2945H5631H7725H139117They took them all to the village of Geruth-kimham near Bethlehem, where they prepared to leave for Egypt.H3212H3427H1628H3643H681H1035H3212H935H471418They were afraid of what the Babylonians would do when they heard that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonian king.H6440H3778H3372H3458H1121H5418H5221H1436H1121H296H4428H894H6485H776

Warning to Stay in Judah

42Then all the guerrilla leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approachedH8269H2428H3110H1121H7143H3153H1121H1955H5971H6996H1419H5066 2Jeremiah 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.H559H3414H5030H8467H5307H6440H6419H3068H430H7611H7604H4592H7235H5869H7200 3Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.”H3068H430H5046H1870H3212H1697H6213 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.”H3414H5030H559H8085H6419H3068H430H1697H1697H3068H6030H5046H4513H1697H4513 5Then 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!H559H3414H3068H571H539H5707H6213H1697H3068H430H7971 6Whether 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.”H2896H7451H8085H6963H3068H430H580H7971H3190H8085H6963H3068H430 7Ten days later the Lord gave his reply to Jeremiah.H7093H6235H3117H1697H3068H3414 8So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest.H7121H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H5971H6996H1419 9He said to them, “You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply:H559H559H3068H430H3478H7971H5307H8467H6440 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.H7725H3427H776H1129H2040H5193H5428H5162H7451H6213 11Do 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.H3372H6440H4428H894H6440H3373H3372H5002H3068H3467H5337H3027 12I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’H5414H7356H7355H7725H127 13“But if you refuse to obey the Lord your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here;H559H3427H776H8085H6963H3068H430 14instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’H559H935H776H4714H7200H4421H8085H6963H7782H7456H3899H3427 15then 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,H8085H1697H3068H7611H3063H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7760H7760H6440H935H4714H935H1481 16the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there.H2719H3373H5381H776H4714H7458H1672H1692H310H4714H4191 17That 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.’H582H7760H6440H935H4714H1481H4191H2719H7458H1698H8300H6412H6440H7451H935 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.’H559H3068H6635H430H3478H639H2534H5413H3427H3389H2534H5413H935H4714H423H8047H7045H2781H7200H4725 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.H3068H1696H7611H3063H935H4714H3045H3045H5749H3117 20For 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!’H8582H5315H7971H3068H430H559H6419H3068H430H3068H430H559H5046H6213 21And 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.H3117H5046H8085H6963H3068H430H7971 22So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.”H3045H3045H4191H2719H7458H1698H4725H2654H935H1481

Jeremiah Taken to Egypt

43When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the Lord their God to all the people,H3414H3615H1696H5971H1697H3068H430H3068H430H7971H1697 2Azariah 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!H559H5838H1121H1955H3110H1121H7143H2086H582H559H3414H1696H8267H3068H430H7971H559H935H4714H1481 3Baruch son of Neriah has convinced you to say this, because he wants us to stay here and be killed by the Babylonians or be carried off into exile.”H1263H1121H5374H5496H4616H5414H3027H3778H4191H1540H894 4So Johanan and the other guerrilla leaders and all the people refused to obey the Lord’s command to stay in Judah.H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H5971H8085H6963H3068H3427H776H3063 5Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled.H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H3947H7611H3063H7725H1471H5080H1481H776H3063 6In 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.H1397H802H2945H4428H1323H5315H5018H7227H2876H3240H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H3414H5030H1263H1121H5374 7The people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.H935H776H4714H8085H6963H3068H935H8471 8Then at Tahpanhes, the Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,H1697H3068H3414H8471H559 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.H3947H1419H68H3027H2934H4423H4404H6607H6547H1004H8471H5869H582H3064 10Then 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, 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.H559H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7971H3947H5019H4428H894H5650H7760H3678H4605H68H2934H5186H8237 11And 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.H935H5221H776H4714H4194H4194H7628H7628H2719H2719 12He 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.H3341H784H1004H430H4714H8313H7617H5844H776H4714H7462H5844H899H3318H7965 13He will break down the sacred pillars standing in the temple of the sun in Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.’”H7665H4676H1053H776H4714H1004H430H4714H8313H784