2 Kings 25:22-30
"22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite.24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.
27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freedJehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon.29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived."
One marvels at the persistent godlessness, intrigue, and violence that continued even after the devastation wrought by Nebuchadnezzar. The murder of Gedaliah, Babylon's appointed governor, with the events surrounding it, and their general significance, may be studied in greater detail in Jeremiah 40-43, where it is made clear that the hearts of the people that remained in the land were still set on resisting the divine will (Jeremiah, 42:20 21). The flight to Egypt (26), in which Jeremiah was involved as a prisoner, invited a further expression of Nebuchadnezzar's wrath (Jeremiah, 43:10ff.), which must have made them finally realise how dangerous it was to refuse the word of the Lord through his prophet. Some people learn only when it is too late, and some never learn at all.
The last few verses of the book (27-30) seem to have been recorded, as one commentator puts it, 'for the hope it gave of a favourable end to the exile', and reminds us that even in judgment the eyes of God were upon His people, watching and waiting, strong enough, and silent enough, to resist pity for them or succour, until the fiery crucible of grief and desolation had burned their sin out of them and subdued their idolatrous hearts to Himself.