I will say, ¹  ‘My dear children of Israel, ²  keep in mind the road you took when you were carried off. ³  Mark off in your minds the landmarks. Make a mental note of telltale signs marking the way back. Return, my dear children of Israel. Return to these cities of yours.

I took both copies of the deed of purchase ¹  and gave them to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah. I gave them to him in the presence ²  of my cousin ³  Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed of purchase, and all the Judeans who were housed in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

He went down to the chamber of the royal secretary in the king’s palace and found all the court officials in session there. Elishama ¹  the royal secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, ²  Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were seated there.

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah ¹  after Nebuzaradan the captain of the royal guard had set him free at Ramah. ²  He had taken him there in chains ³  along with all the people from Jerusalem ⁴  and Judah who were being carried off to exile to Babylon.

So ¹  all these officers and their troops came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. The officers who came were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite. ² 

Moreover, all the Judeans who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the other countries heard what had happened. They heard that the king of Babylon had allowed some people to stay in Judah and that he had appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, to govern them.

But in the seventh month ¹  Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama who was a member of the royal family and had been one of Zedekiah’s chief officers, came with ten of his men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating a meal together with him there at Mizpah,

Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him stood up, pulled out their swords, and killed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan. Thus Ishmael killed the man that the king of Babylon had appointed to govern the country.

But there were ten men among them who said ¹  to Ishmael, “Do not kill us. For we will give you the stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey we have hidden in a field. ²  So he spared their lives and did not kill ³  them along with the rest. ⁴ 

Then Ishmael took captive all the people who were still left alive in Mizpah. This included the royal princesses ¹  and all the rest of the people in Mizpah that Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, had put under the authority of Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took all these people captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him led off all the people who had been left alive at Mizpah. They had rescued them from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after he killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. They led off the men, women, children, soldiers, and court officials whom they had brought away from Gibeon.

They said to him, “Please grant our request ¹  and pray to the Lord your God for all those of us who are still left alive here. ²  For, as you yourself can see, there are only a few of us left out of the many there were before. ³ 

ו (Vav) He destroyed his temple ¹  as if it were a vineyard; ²  he destroyed his appointed meeting place. The Lord has made those in Zion forget both the festivals and the Sabbaths. ³  In his fierce anger ⁴  he has spurned ⁵  both king and priest.

ט (Tet) Her city gates have fallen ¹  to the ground; he smashed to bits ²  the bars that lock her gates. ³  Her king and princes were taken into exile; ⁴  there is no more guidance available. ⁵  As for her prophets, they no longer receive ⁶  a vision from the Lord.

ש (Sin/Shin) The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women ¹  and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; ²  you slaughtered them without mercy. ³ 

ת (Tav) As if it were a feast day, you call ¹  enemies ²  to terrify me ³  on every side. ⁴  On the day of the Lord’s anger no one escaped or survived. My enemy has finished off those healthy infants whom I bore ⁵  and raised. ⁶ 

So now, bear your disgrace, because you have given your sisters reason to justify their behavior. ¹  Because the sins you have committed were more abominable than those of your sisters; they have become more righteous than you. So now, be ashamed and bear the disgrace of making your sisters appear righteous.

“Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: “‘You were like a lion ¹  among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your ²  streams.

After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, ¹  with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people ²  were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely.

The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile due to their iniquity, ¹  for they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies; all of them died by the sword.