Jeremiah 40:5

"Now while he was not yet gone back, Go back then, said he, to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go whithersoever it seemeth right unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a present, and let him go. Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land."

"Now while he was not yet gone back ..." (Jeremiah 40:5). The Revised Standard Version noted that the Hebrew text here is obscure, rendering it, "If you remain, then return to Gedaliah, ... etc."

In this abbreviated account, Jeremiah's answer is not recorded, but his choice was obvious enough. He elected to remain in poverty and hardship with the poor remnant of the people left behind to make a new beginning in Judah.

"Jeremiah went with Gedaliah ... to Mizpah" (Jeremiah 40:6). There were several places called Mizpah, but this one was, "a Benjaminite town near Gibeon and Ramah a few miles northwest of Jerusalem."[11]