Study Desk

One day King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and had him brought to the third entrance of the Lord 's Temple. "I want to ask you something," the king said. "And don't try to hide the truth."

"But I am afraid to surrender," the king said, "for the Babylonians may hand me over to the Judeans who have defected to them. And who knows what they will do to me!"

Jeremiah replied, "You won't be handed over to them if you choose to obey the Lord . Your life will be spared, and all will go well for you.

If this happens, just tell them you begged me not to send you back to Jonathan's dungeon, for fear you would die there."

Sure enough, it wasn't long before the king's officials came to Jeremiah and asked him why the king had called for him. But Jeremiah followed the king's instructions, and they left without finding out the truth. No one had overheard the conversation between Jeremiah and the king.

When King Zedekiah of Judah and all the soldiers saw that the Babylonians had broken into the city, they fled. They waited for nightfall and then slipped through the gate between the two walls behind the king's garden and headed toward the Jordan Valley.

But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the poorest people to stay behind in the land of Judah, and he assigned them to care for the vineyards and fields.

The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, "The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land,

just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened.

But 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.

Gedaliah 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.

"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."

But Gedaliah said to Johanan, "I forbid you to do any such thing, for you are lying about Ishmael."

The people Ishmael had captured shouted for joy when they saw Johanan and the other military leaders.

They took them all to the village of Geruth-kimham near Bethlehem, where they prepared to leave for Egypt.

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.

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."

So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other military leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest.

‘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.

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.