Jeremiah 40:1-6

The word of YAHWEH that came to Jeremiah. I was bound with chains and led away along with all the other people from Jerusalem and Judah that the Babylonians were taking as prisoners to Babylon. When we got to Ramah, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, realized what had happened to me and released me. He took me aside and said to me, “Your God, YAHWEH, prophesied disaster for your country, and now he has brought it to pass. He has done what he threatened to do because your people sinned against YAHWEH and would not listen to his voice. So all this has happened to you. Today I release you from your chains. If you would like to come with me to Babylon, then come. I will make sure you are cared for. If you do not want to come to Babylon with me, then stay here. See, you have the whole land before you, so go wherever you think it best.” However, before I turned to leave, Nebuzaradan added, “Have you thought about staying with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, grandson of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed governor over the towns of Judah? You could stay with him among the people or go anywhere else you think best.” With that, Nebuzaradan gave me a gift and ample provisions for my journey and let me go. I decided to stay with my people in the land of Judah, so I went to live near Gedaliah in Mizpah.