Jeremiah 40

• 1. The LORD gave a message to Jeremiah after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had released him at Ramah. He had found Jeremiah bound in chains among the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were being sent to exile in Babylon.
• 2. The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, "The LORD your God has brought this disaster on this land,
• 3. just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the LORD and disobeyed him. That is why it happened.
• 4. Now 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.
• 5. If 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 gave Jeremiah some food and money and let him go.
• 6. So Jeremiah returned to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and lived in Judah with the few who were still left in the land.
• 7. The 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, and that he hadn't exiled everyone to Babylon.
• 8. So they came to see Gedaliah at Mizpah. These are the names of the leaders who came: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan, sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, and all their men.
• 9. Gedaliah assured them that it would be safe for them to surrender to the Babylonians. "Stay here, and serve the king of Babylon," he said, "and all will go well for you.
• 10. As for me, I will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to meet with us. Settle in any town you wish, and live off the land. Harvest the grapes and summer fruits and olives, and store them away."
• 11. When 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,
• 12. they began to return to Judah from the places to which they had fled. They stopped at Mizpah to discuss their plans with Gedaliah and then went out into the Judean countryside to gather a great harvest of grapes and other crops.
• 13. Soon after this, Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.
• 14. They 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.
• 15. Later 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?"
• 16. But Gedaliah said to Johanan, "I forbid you to do any such thing, for you are lying about Ishmael."

Jeremiah 41

• 1. But in midautumn, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, arrived in Mizpah accompanied by ten men. Gedaliah invited them to dinner. While they were eating,
• 2. Ishmael and his ten men suddenly drew their swords and killed Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor.
• 3. Then they went out and slaughtered all the Judean officials and Babylonian 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. They had come 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 incense.
• 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, 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 made by King Asa when he fortified Mizpah to protect himself against King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with corpses.
• 10. Ishmael made captives of the king's daughters and the other people who had been left under Gedaliah's care in Mizpah by Nebuzaradan, 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 rest of the guerrilla leaders heard what Ishmael had done,
• 12. they took all their men and set out to stop him. They caught up with him at the pool near Gibeon.
• 13. The people Ishmael had captured shouted for joy when they saw Johanan and his men.
• 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 his officers led away all the people they had rescued--warriors, women, children, and palace officials.
• 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 Babylonians would do when they heard that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the Babylonian king.

Jeremiah 42

• 1. Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached
• 2. Jeremiah the prophet. They said, "Please pray to the LORD your God for us. As you know, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before.
• 3. Beg the LORD your God to show us what to do and where to go."
• 4. "All right," Jeremiah replied. "I will pray to the LORD your God, 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 send 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 army officers, 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 for 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 say, `We will not stay here,'
• 14. and if you insist on going to live in Egypt where you think you will be free from war, famine, and alarms,
• 15. then this is what the LORD says to the remnant of Judah. The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `If you insist on going to Egypt,
• 16. the war and famine you fear will follow close behind 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 from the disaster I will bring upon you there.'
• 18. "For the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so they will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. You will become 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 deceitful when you sent me to pray to the LORD your God for you, saying, `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."

New Living Translation: 272 of 324 days.