Moff by section JER 40:1a

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Jeremiah 40

40 The commander-in-chief took Jeremiah and said to him, 2 “The Eternal your God pronounced this sentence of doom upon this place, and he has kept his word; 3 it is because you sinned against the Eternal and would not listen to him, that this has happened to you. 4 Well now, I am releasing you to-day from the chains upon your hands. If you care to come with me to Babylon, I will take good care of you. If not, then never mind; all the land lies open to you, go wherever you think right and good. 5 Go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and the grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed governor of the towns of Judah; stay with him, or go wherever else you choose.” Then the commander-in-chief sent him off with some food and a present; 6 Jeremiah did go to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and stayed wi th him among the people who were left in the land.

When the leaders of the Jewish forces throughout the country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam as governor of the land, in charge of the destitute men, women, and children who had not been carried off to exile in Babylon, 8 they and their men all went to Gedaliah at Mizpah; there were Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai from Netophah, and Jezaniah the son of a man from Maakah. 9 Gedaliah pledged his word to them and to their men, swearing that they need not fear to serve the Chaldeans; “stay on in the country,” he said, “serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well with you. 10 For my part I reside at Mizpah in order to represent your interests whenever Chaldean officials arrive upon the scene; but you can gather and store up wine, fruit, and oil; you can live in any towns you care to occupy.”

11 When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and elsewhere, heard that the king of Babylon had allowed some Jews to stay on in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam as governor, 12 they too returned to Judah from the countries to which they had been driven; they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered large stores of wine and fruit.

13 Now Johanan the son of Kareah went with all the other leaders of the Jewish forces to Gedaliah at Mizpah and asked him, 14 “Are you aware that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to murder you?” Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe it. 15 Johanan the son of Kareah then had a private interview with him at Mizpah; he asked him, “Do let me go and kill Ishmael. No one need know about it. Why should he murder you? It will mean the dispersal of all the Jews who have rallied round you, and the ruin of all who are left in Judah.” 16 “No,” said Gedaliah to Johanan, “you must not do that; what you say about Ishmael is not true.”