Study Desk

Now ^(C1)Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had ^(C2)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of ^(C3)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim.

But ^(C1)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

Yet ^(C1)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(C2)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "^(C3)Please pray to the LORD our God in our behalf."

Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet ^(C1)put him in prison.

Meanwhile, ^(C1)Pharaoh's army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they ^(C2)withdrew from Jerusalem.

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: '^(C1)This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, ^(C2)Pharaoh's army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt.

"Then the Chaldeans will ^(C1)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire."'

"This is what the LORD says: 'Do not ^(C1)deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us," for they will not go.

'For ^(C1)even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(C2)burn this city with fire.'"

Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army,

that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to ^(C1)take ^(F1)possession of some property there among the people.

While he was at the ^(C1)Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he ^(C2)arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans!"

But Jeremiah said, "^(C1)A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans"; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials.

Then the officials were ^(C1)angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and ^(C2)put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison.

For Jeremiah had come into the ^(F1)(C1)dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out; and in his palace the king ^(C1)secretly asked him and said, "Is there a ^(C2)word from the LORD?" And Jeremiah said, "There is!" Then he said, "You will be ^(C3)handed over to the king of Babylon!"

Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "^(C1)In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison?

"And ^(C1)where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The ^(C2)king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land'?

"But now, please listen, my lord the king; please let my ^(C1)plea ^(F1)come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there."

Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the ^(C1)courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of ^(C2)bread daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was ^(C3)gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the ^(C1)son of Shelemiah, and ^(C2)Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying,

"This is what the LORD says: 'Anyone who ^(C1)stays in this city will die by the ^(C2)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who surrenders to the Chaldeans will live and have his own ^(C3)life as plunder, and stay alive.'

"This is what the LORD says: 'This city will certainly be ^(C1)handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.'"

Then the ^(C1)officials said to the king, "Please have this man put to death, since he is ^(F1)(C2)discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and ^(F2)all the people, by speaking words like these to them; for this man ^(C3)is not seeking the well-being of this people, but rather their harm."

And King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your ^(F1)hands; for the king ^(C1)can do nothing against you."

So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the ^(C1)cistern of Malchijah the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only ^(C2)mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

But ^(C1)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a ^(F1)(C2)eunuch, while he was in the king's palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. Now the king was sitting at the ^(C3)Gate of Benjamin;

and Ebed-melech went out from the king's palace and spoke to the king, saying,

"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have thrown into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is ^(C1)no more bread in the city."

Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take thirty men from here ^(F1)under your authority and bring Jeremiah the prophet up from the cistern before he dies."

So Ebed-melech took the men under his ^(F1)authority and went into the king's palace to a place beneath the storeroom, and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags, and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah.

Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes"; and Jeremiah did so.

So they pulled Jeremiah out with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the ^(C1)courtyard of the guardhouse.

Then King Zedekiah ^(C1)sent word and ^(F1)had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the LORD; and the king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ^(C2)ask you something; do not hide anything from me."

And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "^(C1)If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me."

But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in ^(C1)secret, saying, "As the LORD lives, who made this ^(F1)(C2)life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to ^(C3)these men who are seeking your ^(F1)life."

So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD ^(C1)God of armies, the ^(C2)God of Israel says: 'If you will indeed ^(C3)surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then ^(F1)you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will ^(F2)survive.

'But if you do ^(C1)not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city ^(C2)will be handed over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and ^(C3)you yourself will not escape from their hands.'"

Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am ^(C1)in fear of the Jews who have ^(C2)deserted to the Chaldeans, for they may hand me over to them, and they will ^(C3)abuse me."

But Jeremiah said, "They will not turn you over. Please ^(F1)(C1)obey the LORD in what I am saying to you, so that it may go ^(C2)well for you and ^(F2)(C3)you may live.

"But if you keep refusing to surrender, this is the word which the LORD has shown me:

'Behold, all of the ^(C1)women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say, "^(F1)Your close friends Have misled and overpowered you; While your feet were sunk in the mire, They turned back."

'They are also going to bring out all your wives and your ^(C1)sons to the Chaldeans, and ^(C2)you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and ^(C2)this city will be burned with fire.'"

Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know about these words, and you will not die.

"But if the ^(C1)officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, 'Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,'

then you are to say to them, 'I was ^(C1)presenting my plea before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"

Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they stopped speaking with him, since the ^(F1)conversation had not been overheard.

So Jeremiah ^(C1)stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.

^(F1)Now when Jerusalem was captured ^(F2)(C1)in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it;

in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was ^(C1)breached.

Then all the ^(C1)officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the ^(C2)Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the ^(F1)Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the ^(F2)Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

And when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they ^(C1)fled and left the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate ^(C2)between the two walls; and he went out toward the ^(F1)Arabah.

But the army of the ^(C1)Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the ^(C2)plains of Jericho; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at ^(C3)Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he ^(F1)passed sentence on him.

Then the ^(C1)king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah ^(C2)before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slaughtered all the ^(C3)nobles of Judah.

He then ^(C1)blinded Zedekiah's eyes and bound him in ^(C2)shackles of bronze to bring him to ^(C3)Babylon.

The Chaldeans also ^(C1)burned the king's palace and the houses of the people with fire, and they ^(C2)tore down the walls of Jerusalem.

And as for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the ^(C1)deserters who had deserted to him and ^(C2)the rest of the people who remained, ^(C3)Nebuzaradan the ^(C4)captain of the bodyguard took them into exile in Babylon.

But some of the ^(C1)poorest people, who had nothing, ^(C1)Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields ^(F1)at that time.

Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders regarding ^(C1)Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying,

"Take him and ^(F1)look after him, and ^(C1)do not do anything harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you."

So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the ^(F1)Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the ^(F2)Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon;

they even sent word and ^(C1)took Jeremiah out of the courtyard of the guardhouse and entrusted him to ^(C2)Gedaliah, the son of ^(C3)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

Now the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was ^(C1)confined in the courtyard of the guardhouse, saying,

"Go and speak to ^(C1)Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, 'This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Behold, I am going to bring My words on this city ^(C2)for disaster and not for ^(F1)prosperity; and they will ^(C3)take place before you on that day.

"But I will ^(C1)save you on that day," declares the LORD, "and you will not be handed over to the men of whom you are afraid.

"For I will assuredly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own ^(C1)life as plunder, because you have ^(C2)trusted in Me," declares the LORD.'"

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after ^(C1)Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from ^(C2)Ramah, when he had taken him bound in ^(C3)chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.

Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, "The ^(C1)LORD your God promised this disaster against this place;

and the LORD has brought it and done just as He promised. Because you people ^(C1)sinned against the LORD and did not listen to His voice, this thing has happened to you.

"But now, behold, I am ^(C1)setting you free today from the chains that are on your hands. If ^(F1)you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will ^(F2)look after you; but if ^(F3)you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, ^(F4)do not come. Look, the ^(C2)whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go."

As ^(F1)Jeremiah was still not going back, ^(F2)he said, "Go on back then to ^(C1)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has ^(C2)appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go." So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ^(C3)ration and a ^(C4)gift, and let him go.

Then Jeremiah went to ^(C1)Mizpah to ^(C2)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

^(C1)Now all the commanders of the forces that 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 put him in charge of the men, women, and ^(F1)children, those of the ^(C2)poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon.

So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ^(C1)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, ^(C2)Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the ^(C3)Netophathite, and ^(C4)Jezaniah the son of the ^(C5)Maacathite, both they and their men.

Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ^(C1)swore to them and to their men, saying, "^(C2)Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, so that it may go well for you.

"Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay in Mizpah to ^(C1)stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, ^(C2)gather wine, ^(C3)summer fruit, and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over."

Likewise, also all the Jews who were in ^(C1)Moab and among the sons of ^(C2)Ammon and in ^(C3)Edom, and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had ^(F1)left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.

Then all the Jews ^(C1)returned from all the places to which they had been scattered and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah,

and said to him, "Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of ^(C1)Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, "^(C1)Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know! Why should he ^(C2)take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the ^(C3)remnant of Judah would perish?"

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "^(C1)Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

^(C1)Now in the seventh month ^(C2)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^(F1)family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to ^(C3)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they ^(C4)were eating bread together there in Mizpah,

Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him rose up, and ^(C1)struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and ^(C2)put to death the one ^(C3)whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

Ishmael also struck and killed all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

Now it happened on the ^(F1)next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it,

that eighty men ^(C1)came from ^(C2)Shechem, from ^(C3)Shiloh, and from ^(C4)Samaria with ^(C5)their beards shaved off, their clothes torn, and ^(F1)their bodies ^(C6)gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the ^(C7)house of the LORD.

Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them, ^(C1)weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!"

Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him ^(C1)slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern.

But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, "Do not put us to death, for we have ^(C1)supplies of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field." So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck and killed ^(F1)because of Gedaliah, it was the ^(C1)one that King Asa had constructed on ^(C2)account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

Then Ishmael took captive all the ^(C1)remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the ^(C2)king's daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put in the custody of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of ^(C3)Ammon.

But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the ^(C1)commanders of the forces that were with him heard about all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done.

So they took all the men and went to ^(C1)fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the ^(C2)large ^(F1)pool that is in Gibeon.

Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were joyful.

So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah ^(C1)escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the sons of Ammon.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah ^(C1)all the remnant of the people whom he had ^(F1)recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were ^(F2)soldiers, the women, the ^(F3)children, and the high officials, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.

And they went and stayed in ^(F1)(C1)Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to ^(C2)proceed into Egypt

because of the Chaldeans; for they were ^(C1)afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck and killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom ^(C2)the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

Then all the commanders of the forces, ^(C1)Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people ^(C2)from the small to the great approached

and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please let our ^(C1)pleading ^(F1)come before you, and ^(C2)pray for us to the LORD your God for all this remnant—since we have been left only a ^(C3)few out of many, just as your own eyes now see us—

that the LORD your God will tell us the ^(C1)way in which we should walk, and the thing that we should do."

Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I am going to ^(C1)pray to the LORD your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole ^(F1)message which the ^(C2)LORD gives you as an answer. I will ^(C3)not withhold a word from you."

Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the ^(C1)LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole ^(F1)message with which the LORD your God will send you to us.

"Whether it is ^(F1)pleasant or ^(F2)unpleasant, we will ^(C1)listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go ^(C2)well for us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God."

Now at the ^(C1)end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah.

Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people from the small to the great,

and said to them, "This is what the LORD ^(C1)says, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea before Him:

'If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will ^(C1)build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I ^(F1)will ^(C2)relent of the disaster that I have inflicted on you.

'^(C1)Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,' declares the LORD, 'for ^(C2)I am with you to save you and rescue you from his hand.

'I will also show you compassion, so that ^(C1)he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil.

'But if you are going to say, "We will ^(C1)not stay in this land," so as not to listen to the voice of the LORD your God,

saying, "No, but we will ^(C1)go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war, or ^(C2)hear the sound of a trumpet, or hunger for bread, and we will stay there";

then ^(F1)in that case listen to the word of the LORD, you remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "If you really set your ^(F2)minds to enter ^(C1)Egypt and go in to reside there,

then the ^(C1)sword, of which you are afraid, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there.

"So all the people who set their ^(F1)minds to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the ^(C1)sword, by famine, or by plague; and they will ^(C2)have no refugees or survivors from the disaster that I am going to bring on them."'"

For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "As My ^(C1)anger and wrath have gushed out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will gush out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a ^(C2)curse, an object of horror, ^(F1)an imprecation, and a disgrace; and ^(C3)you will not see this place again."

The LORD has spoken to you, you remnant of Judah, "Do not ^(C1)go to Egypt!" You ^(C2)know for certain that I have ^(C3)admonished you today.

For you have only ^(F1)(C1)deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, "Pray for us to the LORD our God; and whatever the LORD our God says, tell us so, and we will do it."

So I have ^(C1)told you today, but you have ^(C2)not ^(F1)obeyed the LORD your God in whatever He has sent me to tell you.

And now you shall know for certain that you will ^(C1)die by the sword, by famine, or by plague in the ^(C2)place where you desire to go to reside.