Глава 40

Then the Prophet announces what Archmagir Nebuzaradan is telling him. Jer.40:2. The Lord your God has spoken to this evil place: (Jer.40:3). “And bring, and do the Lord, as he said, sin against Him, and ye will not listen to His voice, and this verb shall be unto you.” And from this it appears that God from the beginning chose Israel to do good to other nations; because the miracles performed for the sake of the Israelites amazed everyone, and clearly taught that their God is the one true God, as well as the sorrowful events that happened to them, as they were accused of iniquities, so they proclaimed the truthfulness of God’s sentence. Therefore, now Nebuzaradan said that they were punished according to their dignity, and God did this truthfully. Then he gives it to the Prophet to choose from, and if he chooses Babylon to live, he promises him his services there, and if he wants to stay in Judea, he promises to leave, and says: Jer.40:4. Behold, the whole earth is before you: whatever you want, and if you wish to go, go there: (Jer. 40:5) and before I leave, you go, and “return to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Saphan, whom you will make king of Babylon in the land of Judah, and live with him among your people,” and if you don’t want to, “in all the good things before your eyes, walk, walk.” You have full power, says Nebuzaradan, and you are outside my power, under God’s dominion; do as you please. Having said this and similar things, and having given the Prophet many gifts, he sent him away; and he went to Gedaliah. Then the Prophet says that those of the princes who fled from the Babylonians, having learned about Gedaliah, came to him, and Gedaliah assured them with an oath that they would not tolerate anything sad from the Chaldeans, and advised them to gather the fruits of the earth and enjoy the blessings of the world in peace. Those who fled to the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites also returned when they learned that Gedaliah had become ruler. Then the Prophet informs that Johanan and other princes reported to Gedaliah about some kind of evil plotted by Ishmael, but the informers could not assure Gedaliah that they were telling the truth, and Johanan sought to secretly kill Ishmael. Jeremiah 40:15. May it not strike your soul, and all Judas gathered to you will scatter, and the remnant of Judah will perish.” But Gedaliah, having heard this, did not give consent, but forbade this undertaking to be carried out, calling the accusation slander.