Jeremiah 40
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.H1697H3414H3068H310H5018H7227H2876H7971H7414H3947H631H246H8432H1546H3389H3063H1540H8942The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, “The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land,H7227H2876H3947H3414H559H3068H430H1696H7451H47253just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened.H3068H935H6213H1696H2398H3068H8085H6963H16974But 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.H6605H3117H246H3027H2896H5869H935H894H935H7760H5869H7489H5869H935H894H2308H7200H776H6440H413H2896H3477H5869H3212H32125If 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.H7725H7725H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H4428H894H6485H5892H3063H3427H8432H5971H3212H3477H5869H3212H7227H2876H5414H737H4864H79716So Jeremiah returned to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and he lived in Judah with the few who were still left in the land.H935H3414H1436H1121H296H4708H3427H8432H5971H7604H7767The 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.H8269H2428H7704H582H8085H4428H894H1436H1121H296H6485H776H6485H582H802H2945H1803H776H1540H8948So 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.H935H1436H4708H3458H1121H5418H3110H3129H1121H7143H8304H1121H8576H1121H5778H5200H3153H1121H4602H5829Gedaliah 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.H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H7650H582H559H3372H5647H3778H3427H776H5647H4428H894H319010“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.”H3427H4709H5975H6440H3778H935H622H3196H7019H8081H7760H3627H3427H5892H861011When 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,H3064H4124H5983H123H776H8085H4428H894H5414H7611H3063H6485H1436H1121H296H1121H822712they 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.H3064H7725H4725H5080H935H776H3063H1436H4708H622H3196H7019H3966H723513Soon after this, Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders came to Gedaliah at Mizpah.H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H7704H935H1436H470814They 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.H559H3045H3045H1185H4428H1121H5983H7971H3458H1121H5418H5221H5315H1436H1121H296H53915Later 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?”H3110H1121H7143H559H1436H4709H5643H559H3212H5221H3458H1121H5418H376H3045H5221H5315H3064H6908H6327H7611H3063H616But Gedaliah said to Johanan, “I forbid you to do any such thing, for you are lying about Ishmael.”H1436H1121H296H559H3110H1121H7143H6213H1697H1696H8267H3458
Jeremiah 41
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
Jeremiah 42
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, approachedH8269H2428H3110H1121H7143H3153H1121H1955H5971H6996H1419H50662Jeremiah 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.H559H3414H5030H8467H5307H6440H6419H3068H430H7611H7604H4592H7235H5869H72003Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.”H3068H430H5046H1870H3212H1697H62134“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.”H3414H5030H559H8085H6419H3068H430H1697H1697H3068H6030H5046H4513H1697H45135Then 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!H559H3414H3068H571H539H5707H6213H1697H3068H430H79716Whether 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.”H2896H7451H8085H6963H3068H430H580H7971H3190H8085H6963H3068H4307Ten days later the Lord gave his reply to Jeremiah.H7093H6235H3117H1697H3068H34148So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest.H7121H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H5971H6996H14199He said to them, “You sent me to the Lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply:H559H559H3068H430H3478H7971H5307H8467H644010‘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.H7725H3427H776H1129H2040H5193H5428H5162H7451H621311Do 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.H3372H6440H4428H894H6440H3373H3372H5002H3068H3467H5337H302712I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’H5414H7356H7355H7725H12713“But if you refuse to obey the Lord your God, and if you say, ‘We will not stay here;H559H3427H776H8085H6963H3068H43014instead, we will go to Egypt where we will be free from war, the call to arms, and hunger,’H559H935H776H4714H7200H4421H8085H6963H7782H7456H3899H342715then 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,H8085H1697H3068H7611H3063H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7760H7760H6440H935H4714H935H148116the very war and famine you fear will catch up to you, and you will die there.H2719H3373H5381H776H4714H7458H1672H1692H310H4714H419117That 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.’H582H7760H6440H935H4714H1481H4191H2719H7458H1698H8300H6412H6440H7451H93518“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.’H559H3068H6635H430H3478H639H2534H5413H3427H3389H2534H5413H935H4714H423H8047H7045H2781H7200H472519“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.H3068H1696H7611H3063H935H4714H3045H3045H5749H311720For 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!’H8582H5315H7971H3068H430H559H6419H3068H430H3068H430H559H5046H621321And 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.H3117H5046H8085H6963H3068H430H797122So you can be sure that you will die from war, famine, and disease in Egypt, where you insist on going.”H3045H3045H4191H2719H7458H1698H4725H2654H935H1481
Jeremiah 43
43When Jeremiah had finished giving this message from the Lord their God to all the people,H3414H3615H1696H5971H1697H3068H430H3068H430H7971H16972Azariah 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!H559H5838H1121H1955H3110H1121H7143H2086H582H559H3414H1696H8267H3068H430H7971H559H935H4714H14813Baruch 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.”H1263H1121H5374H5496H4616H5414H3027H3778H4191H1540H8944So Johanan and the other guerrilla leaders and all the people refused to obey the Lord’s command to stay in Judah.H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H5971H8085H6963H3068H3427H776H30635Johanan and the other leaders took with them all the people who had returned from the nearby countries to which they had fled.H3110H1121H7143H8269H2428H3947H7611H3063H7725H1471H5080H1481H776H30636In 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.H1397H802H2945H4428H1323H5315H5018H7227H2876H3240H1436H1121H296H1121H8227H3414H5030H1263H1121H53747The people refused to obey the voice of the Lord and went to Egypt, going as far as the city of Tahpanhes.H935H776H4714H8085H6963H3068H935H84718Then at Tahpanhes, the Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,H1697H3068H3414H8471H5599“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.H3947H1419H68H3027H2934H4423H4404H6607H6547H1004H8471H5869H582H306410Then 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.H559H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7971H3947H5019H4428H894H5650H7760H3678H4605H68H2934H5186H823711And 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.H935H5221H776H4714H4194H4194H7628H7628H2719H271912He 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.H3341H784H1004H430H4714H8313H7617H5844H776H4714H7462H5844H899H3318H796513He 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
Jeremiah 44
44This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in southern Egypt as well:H1697H3414H3064H3427H776H4714H3427H4024H8471H5297H776H6624H5592“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins.H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7200H7451H935H3389H5892H3063H3117H2723H34273They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods—gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known.H6440H7451H6213H3707H3212H6999H5647H312H430H3045H14“Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’H7971H5650H5030H7925H7971H559H6213H8441H1697H81305But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods.H8085H5186H241H7725H7451H6999H312H4306And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and they are still a desolate ruin today.H2534H639H5413H1197H5892H3063H2351H3389H2723H8077H31177“And now the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive—not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms.H559H3068H430H6635H430H3478H6213H1419H7451H5315H3772H376H802H5768H3243H8432H3063H3498H76118Why provoke my anger by burning incense to the idols you have made here in Egypt? You will only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and mockery for all the nations of the earth.H3707H4639H3027H6999H312H430H776H4714H935H1481H3772H7045H2781H1471H7769Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors, the sins of the kings and queens of Judah, and the sins you and your wives committed in Judah and Jerusalem?H7911H7451H1H7451H4428H3063H7451H802H7451H7451H802H6213H776H3063H2351H338910To this very hour you have shown no remorse or reverence. No one has chosen to follow my word and the decrees I gave to you and your ancestors before you.H1792H3117H3372H1980H8451H2708H5414H6440H6440H111“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you!H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7760H6440H7451H3772H306312I will take this remnant of Judah—those who were determined to come here and live in Egypt—and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery.H3947H7611H3063H7760H6440H935H776H4714H1481H8552H5307H776H4714H8552H2719H7458H4191H6996H1419H2719H7458H423H8047H7045H278113I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease.H6485H3427H776H4714H6485H3389H2719H7458H169814Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so.”H7611H3063H935H776H4714H1481H6412H8300H7725H776H3063H5375H5315H7725H3427H7725H640515Then all the women present and all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to idols—a great crowd of all the Judeans living in northern Egypt and southern Egypt—answered Jeremiah,H582H3045H802H6999H312H430H802H5975H1419H6951H5971H3427H776H4714H6624H6030H3414H55916“We will not listen to your messages from the Lord!H1697H1696H8034H3068H808517We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven just as much as we like—just as we, and our ancestors, and our kings and officials have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles!H6213H6213H1697H3318H6310H6999H4446H8064H5258H5262H6213H1H4428H8269H5892H3063H2351H3389H7646H3899H2896H7200H745118But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her with liquid offerings, we have been in great trouble and have been dying from war and famine.”H2308H6999H4446H8064H5258H5262H2637H8552H2719H745819“Besides,” the women added, “do you suppose that we were burning incense and pouring out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and making cakes marked with her image, without our husbands knowing it and helping us? Of course not!”H6999H4446H8064H5258H5262H6213H3561H6087H5258H5262H1107H58220Then Jeremiah said to all of them, men and women alike, who had given him that answer,H3414H559H5971H1397H802H5971H1697H6030H55921“Do you think the Lord did not know that you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the people were burning incense to idols in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?H7002H6999H5892H3063H2351H3389H1H4428H8269H5971H776H3068H2142H5927H382022It was because the Lord could no longer bear all the disgusting things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing—a desolate ruin without inhabitants—as it is today.H3068H3201H5375H6440H7455H4611H6440H8441H6213H776H2723H8047H7045H3427H311723All these terrible things happened to you because you have burned incense to idols and sinned against the Lord. You have refused to obey him and have not followed his instructions, his decrees, and his laws.”H6440H834H6999H2398H3068H8085H6963H3068H1980H8451H2708H5715H7451H7122H311724Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the Lord, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt.H3414H559H5971H802H8085H1697H3068H3063H776H471425This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You and your wives have said, “We will keep our promises to burn incense and pour out liquid offerings to the Queen of Heaven,” and you have proved by your actions that you meant it. So go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!’H559H3068H6635H430H3478H559H802H1696H6310H4390H3027H559H6213H6213H5088H5087H6999H4446H8064H5258H5262H6965H6965H5088H6213H6213H508826“But listen to this message from the Lord, all you Judeans now living in Egypt: ‘I have sworn by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that my name will no longer be spoken by any of the Judeans in the land of Egypt. None of you may invoke my name or use this oath: “As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.”H8085H1697H3068H3063H3427H776H4714H7650H1419H8034H559H3068H8034H7121H6310H376H3063H776H4714H559H136H3069H241627For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. Everyone from Judah who is now living in Egypt will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.H8245H7451H2896H376H3063H776H4714H8552H2719H7458H361528Only a small number will escape death and return to Judah from Egypt. Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true—mine or theirs!H4962H4557H6412H2719H7725H776H4714H776H3063H7611H3063H935H776H4714H1481H3045H1697H696529“‘And this is the proof I give you,’ says the Lord, ‘that all I have threatened will happen to you and that I will punish you here.’H226H5002H3068H6485H4725H3045H1697H6965H6965H745130This is what the Lord says: ‘I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’”H559H3068H5414H6548H4428H4714H3027H341H3027H1245H5315H5414H6667H4428H3063H3027H5019H4428H894H341H1245H5315
Psalms 24
24[A psalm of David.] The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.H4210H1732H776H3068H4393H8398H34272For he laid the earth's foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.H3245H3220H3559H51043Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?H5927H2022H3068H6965H6944H47254Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.H5355H3709H1249H3824H5375H5315H7723H7650H48205They will receive the LORD's blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior.H5375H1293H3068H6666H430H34686Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob. InterludeH1755H1875H1245H6440H3290H55427Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.H5375H7218H8179H5375H5769H6607H4428H3519H9358Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty; the LORD, invincible in battle.H4428H3519H3068H5808H1368H3068H1368H44219Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.H5375H7218H8179H5375H5769H6607H4428H3519H93510Who is the King of glory? The LORD of Heaven's Armies—he is the King of glory. InterludeH4428H3519H3068H6635H4428H3519H5542
Dublin, OH
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.H1436
