*** and the Lord has made it come, and has done as he said; because of your sin against the Lord in not giving ear to his voice; and that is why this thing has come on you.

And so then look, I have released you {today} from the chains that [were] on your hands. If it is good in your eyes to come with me [to] Babylon, [then] come, and {I will take care of you}. But if it is bad in your eyes to come with me [to] Babylon, [then] refrain. Look, the whole land [is] {before you}. To [wherever it is] good and right in your eyes to go, [then] go there."

Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.

Now, when all the captains of the forces which were in the field - they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had set Gedaliah son of Ahikam in charge over the land, - and that he had committed to him men and women and children, and the poor of the land of those who had not been carried away captive to Babylon,

Then Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan swats unto them, and to their men saying, Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans, - dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon that it may be well with you.

{As for me}, look, I [am] staying at Mizpah to represent [you] {before} the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, and put [them] in your vessels, and live in your towns that you have seized."

Likewise also, all the Jews, who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and who were in any of the lands, when they heard that the king of Babylon had granted a remnant to Judah, and that he had set in charge over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan,

then all the Judeans returned from all the places [to] which they were scattered. And they came [to] the land of Judah, to Gedaliah [at] Mizpah, and they gathered wine and summer fruit that yielded {in great abundance}.

Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,

and said unto him - Dost thou at all know, that, Baalis, king of the sons of Ammon, hath sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah, to smite thee to death? But Gedaliah son of Ahikam, believed them not.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah said to Gedaliah in secrecy at Mizpah, {saying}, "Please let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and {nobody} will know. Why should he kill you, so that all of Judah who are gathered to you will be scattered, and the remnant of Judah will perish?"

But Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do that! What you’re saying about Ishmael is a lie.”

And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama of the seed royal and chiefs of the king, and ten men with him, came in, unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, at Mizpah, - and they did there eat bread together in Mizpah.

Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, to wit , with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, the men of war.

The next day after that he had slain Gedaliah - the matter was yet unknown -

that men came in from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, - eighty men, with beards shaven and clothes rent who also had cut themselves, with a meal-offering and frankincense in their hand, to bring them into the house of Yahweh.

Then went forth Ishmael son of Nethaniah to meet them out of Mizpah, weeping all along as he went, - and it came to pass when he fell in with them, that he said unto them, Come ye in unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam.

And so it was when they had come into the midst of the city, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah slew them and east them into the midst of a pit, he and the men who were with him.

But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not; for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.

Now the pit [into] which Ishmael threw all the corpses of the men whom he had killed {along with} Gedaliah [was the same one] that King Asa had made because of Baasha the king of Israel, [who was] against him. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled [it with] the slain ones.

Then did Ishmael take captive all the remnant of the people that was in Mizpah, - the daughters of the king, and all the people that were left remaining in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan chief of the royal executioners had committed unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, - yea Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive, and departed to pass over unto the sons of Ammon.

When Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him, heard all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

then they took all the men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. And they met him at [the] great pool that [is] in Gibeon.

{And then}, the moment that all the people who [were] with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him, they were glad.

So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.

Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to wit , the men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon:

and they departed, and dwelt in the khan of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, - that they might go to enter Egypt;

of whom they were afraid, because that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah Ahikam's son, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land.

and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us,

that Yahweh thy God may tell us the way wherein we should walk, - and the thing that we should do.

And Jeremiah the prophet, said unto them, I have heard; behold me! praying unto Yahweh your God according to your words, - and it shall come to pass that the whole thing that Yahweh shall answer you, I will tell you, I will keep back from you, nothing.

Then they said to Jeremiah, "May Yahweh be against us as {a true and faithful witness} if we do not do according to all the words that Yahweh sends you for us.

Whether good or bad, we will listen to the voice of Yahweh our God, [to] whom we [are] sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of Yahweh our God."

And it came to pass at the end of ten days, that the word of Yahweh came unto Jeremiah.

Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

'If only you will stay in this land, then I will build you and I will not tear [you] down, and I will plant you and I will not pluck [you] up, for I relent of the disaster that I have brought to you.

that I may grant you compassions and he may have compassion upon you, - and suffer you to return unto your own soil.

But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land; so that ye obey not the voice of Jehovah your God,

saying, No; but the land of Egypt we enter, that we see no war, and the sound of a trumpet do not hear, and for bread be not hungry; and there do we dwell.

then in that case listen to the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you really set your mind to enter Egypt and go in to reside there,

then shall it come to pass that the sword which ye are fearing shall, there, overtake you, in the land of Egypt, - and the famine which ye are dreading, shall, there, lay fast hold of you, in Egypt, and, there, shall ye die.

So all the people who {are determined} to go [to] Egypt to dwell as aliens there will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the plague, and there will not be for them an escapee or a survivor from the disaster that I [am] bringing upon them."

For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, 'If you go to Egypt, I will pour out my wrath on you just as I poured out my anger and wrath on the citizens of Jerusalem. You will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. You will never see this place again.'

Yahweh hath spoken concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah, Do not enter into Egypt: Know certainly, that I have taken you to witness to-day.

For ye have deceived yourselves at the cost of your lives, for, ye yourselves, sent me unto Yahweh your God, saying, - Pray thou in our behalf, unto Yahweh our God, - and according to all that Yahweh our God shall say, so, tell us and we will do it.

So I have told you {today}, and you have not listened to the voice of Yahweh your God, or of {anything} that he sent me for you.

Now, therefore, know ye certainly, that by sword, by famine, or by pestilence, shall ye die, - in the place whither ye have desired to go, to sojourn.

And it came to pass that, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, wherewith Jehovah their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

that Azariah son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and all the proud men, speak unto Jeremiah, saying, 'Falsehood thou art speaking; Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Do not enter Egypt to sojourn there;

but Baruch son of Neriah, is goading thee on against us, - that he may deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, to put us to death, or take us away captive to Babylon.

So Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, did not give ear to the order of the Lord that they were to go on living in the land of Judah.

But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all the nations whither they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah;

both the men and the women and the children, and the daughters of the king, and every soul that Nebuzaradan chief of the royal executioners had left, with Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, - and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch son of Neriah;

Take in thy hand great stones and hide them in the mortar that is in the brickyard which is at the entrance of the house of Pharaoh in Tahpanhes, - before the eyes of the men of Judah.

and say to them, 'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: "Look, I [am] going to send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread out his canopy over them.

He shall also break the pillars of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire.

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, who were living at Migdol, and Tahpanhes, and Memphis, and in the land of Pathros, {saying},

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen all the disaster that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the towns of Judah. And look, they [are] a site of ruins this day, and there is not in them an inhabitant,

{because of} their wickedness that they committed to provoke me to anger by going to make smoke offerings, serving other gods whom they had not known, [neither] they, you, or your ancestors.

And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, {sending over and over again}, {saying}, "Please, you must not do this detestable thing that I hate."

But they gave no attention, and their ears were not open so that they might be turned from their evil-doing and from burning perfume to other gods.

So My fierce wrath poured out and burned in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets so that they became the desolate ruin they are today.

Now, therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh God of hosts God of Israel - Wherefore, are ye committing a great wickedness against your own lives, that ye should cut off from you man and woman child and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, - so that there should not be left you a remnant:

in that ye provoke me to anger by the works of your own hands, burning incense to other gods, in the land of Egypt, which ye have been entering to sojourn, - that ye should cut them off from you, and that ye should become a contempt and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, the evils of Judah’s kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

They have not shown contrition up to this day, and they have not shown reverence, and they have not walked in my law and in my statutes that I set {before you} and {before} your ancestors.'

And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence;

and there shall be neither escape nor survival, unto the remnant of Judah who have been entering, to sojourn there into the land of Egypt, - that they should return to the land of Judah even when they are lifting up their soul to return to dwell there, for none shall return, saving fugitives.

Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by, a great convocation, - with all the people who were dwelling in the land of Egypt in Pathros, made answer unto Jeremiah, saying:

"[Concerning] the word that you have spoken to us in the name of Yahweh, we [are] not going to listen to you!

but, we will certainly do, the whole thing that hath gone forth out of our own mouth, by burning incense to the queen of the heavens, and pouring out to her drink-offerings, just as we and our fathers, and our kings and our princes, did, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, then were we filled with bread and became prosperous, and calamity, saw we none;

And, though we are burning incense to the queen of the heavens and pouring out to her drink-offerings, is it, without our men that we have made to her sacrificial cakes as images of her and poured out to her, drink-offerings?

Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people that had given him that answer, saying,

Was it not, the very incense which ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers your kings and your princes and the people of the land, was it not those very things, that Yahweh did remember, and that came up on his heart;

so that Yahweh could no longer forbear because of the wickedness of your doings, because of the abominations which ye committed, - and your land became a desolation, and an astonishment, and a contempt without inhabitant - as at this day?

Because that ye burned incense, and that ye sinned against Yahweh and hearkened not unto the voice of Yahweh, and, in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies, did not walk, for this cause, did this calamity befall you - as at this day.

Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of Jehovah, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:

Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, {saying}, 'You and your wives have promised with your mouths and with your hands you have fulfilled, {saying}, "We certainly will carry out our vows that we vowed, to make smoke offerings to the queen of the heavens, and to pour out to her libations." You must certainly keep your vows and you must certainly carry out your vows.'

Therefore, hear ye the word of Yahweh, all Judah, who are dwelling in the land of Egypt, - Behold me! I have sworn by my great Name, Saith Yahweh, That my Name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah saying - By the life of My Lord, Yahweh in all the land of Egypt.

Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.

Yet, the fugitives of the sword, shall certainly return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah men easily counted, - that all the remnant of Judah who are entering Egypt to sojourn there, may know, whose word, shall stand, mine or theirs!

And, this, to you, shall be the sign, Declareth Yahweh, that I am about to bring punishment upon you in this place, - that ye may know that my words shall, certainly stand against you, for calamity:

Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, the son of Neriah, at his writing these words on a scroll from the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, {saying},

Thus, shalt thou say unto him Thus, saith Yahweh, - Lo! what I had built, I am pulling down, And what I had planted, I am rooting up, - And that is, all the land:

Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go."'"

The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

For Egypt, concerning the force of Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt, that hath been by the river Phrat, in Carchemish, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath smitten, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

Why have I seen that they are afraid, turned backward? And their mighty ones are beaten down and have fled for refuge, and they do not look back. Terror is all around, says Jehovah.

Who is it that is like the Nile when it riseth, Like rivers when his waters are tossed?

It is Egypt that riseth up as the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers; and he saith, I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.

Mount the horses, And drive the chariots madly on, So let the heroes, go forth, - Ethiopians and Libyans that grasp the buckler, And Lydians that grasp - that tread - the bow, But, that day, belongeth to My Lord Yahweh of hosts -

For that day [is] to the Lord Yahweh of hosts a day of retribution, to take revenge on his foes. And [the] sword will devour and be satisfied, and it will drink its fill of their blood, for a sacrifice [is] for the Lord Yahweh of hosts in the land of [the] north by the Euphrates River.

The word that Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon to attack the land of Egypt:

How happeneth it that thy mighty worthies are fallen? Why stood they not fast? Even because the LORD thrust them down.

He continues to stumble.
Indeed, each falls over the other.
They say, “Get up! Let’s return to our people
and to the land of our birth,
away from the sword that oppresses.”

I the King, whose name is the Lord who rules over all, swear this: I swear as surely as I live that a conqueror is coming. He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains, as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea.

O thou daughter that dwellest in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.