Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.”

All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side.

You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and law to them through Moses your servant.

Tell them: ‘Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes but do not discern, who have ears but do not perceive:

Then those living in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem will go and cry out for help to the gods to whom they have been sacrificing. However, those gods will by no means be able to save them when disaster strikes them.

Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them.

You kept the promise that you swore on oath to their ancestors. You gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.

I will give them a single-minded purpose to live in a way that always shows respect for me. They will want to do that for their own good and the good of the children who descend from them.

I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I will give them tender hearts,

But those in Jerusalem will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, but the king of Babylon will accuse them of violations in order to seize them.

Her prophets coat their messages with whitewash. They see false visions and announce lying omens for them, saying, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

when they grasped you with their hand, you broke and tore their shoulders, and when they leaned on you, you splintered and caused their legs to be unsteady.

Woe to them! For they have fled from me! Destruction to them! For they have rebelled against me! I want to deliver them, but they have lied to me.

but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted.

I will reside among the Israelites, and I will be their God,

So they placed him in custody until they were able to make a clear legal decision for themselves based on words from the mouth of the Lord.

And what I intended to do to them I will do to you.”

Their assigned land included Beer Sheba, Moladah,

The stands were constructed with frames between the joints.

or with princes who possessed gold, who filled their palaces with silver.