v 6 Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, gave Jeremiah some food and money and let him go. So Jeremiah returned to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and he lived in Judah with the few who were still left in the land.
Nebuzaradan was the organiser of the march to Babylon from Jerusalem which we read about last Thursday in Jeremiah 52. Jeremiah must have been known to him as the Jew who recommended people to surrender and become slaves rather than fight with the Babylonians. He looked out for Jeremiah, and even gave him food and money for him to re-settle in Judah. So Jeremiah has a choice – go to Babylon with the others or stay with the small band of poverty-stricken Jews in Judah. His decision to stay in Judah is hardly surprising; better the place you know than life in a foreign land.
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