²³ When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men.

²⁴ Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.”

Gedaliah Assassinated^(A)

⁷ When all the army officers and their men who were still in the open country heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor^(B) over the land and had put him in charge of the men, women and children who were the poorest^(C) in the land and who had not been carried into exile to Babylon, ⁸ they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah^(D)—Ishmael^(E) son of Nethaniah, Johanan^(F) and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite,^(G) and Jaazaniah^[a] the son of the Maakathite,^(H) and their men. ⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid to serve^(I) the Babylonians,^[b](J)” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.^{(K) 10} I myself will stay at Mizpah^(L) to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine,^(M) summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars,^(N) and live in the towns you have taken over.”^(O)

¹¹ When all the Jews in Moab,^(P) Ammon, Edom^(Q) and all the other countries^(R) heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, ¹² they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered.^(S) And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.