1. Then all the guerrilla leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, approached
2. Jeremiah the prophet. They said, “Please pray to the lord your God for us. As you can see, we are only a tiny remnant compared to what we were before.
3. Pray that the lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.”
4. “All right,” Jeremiah replied. “I will pray to the lord your God, as you have asked, and I will tell you everything he says. I will hide nothing from you.”
5. Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the lord your God be a faithful witness against us if we refuse to obey whatever he tells us to do!
6. Whether we like it or not, we will obey the lord our God to whom we are sending you with our plea. For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us.”
7. Ten days later the lord gave his reply to Jeremiah.
8. So he called for Johanan son of Kareah and the other guerrilla leaders, and for all the people, from the least to the greatest.
9. He said to them, “You sent me to the lord, the God of Israel, with your request, and this is his reply:
10. ‘Stay here in this land. If you do, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you. For I am sorry about all the punishment I have had to bring upon you.
11. Do not fear the king of Babylon anymore,’ says the lord. ‘For I am with you and will save you and rescue you from his power.
12. I will be merciful to you by making him kind, so he will let you stay here in your land.’