The Temple is destroyed, Nebuchadnezzar installs Gedaliah as governor of Judah and instructs his captain to find Jeremiah and offer him safety in Babylon or in Judah. Jeremiah stays in Judah: Jeremiah 52:12–29; 2 Kings 25:8–23; Jeremiah 39:11–18; Jeremiah 40:1–12; 2 Chronicles 36:15–21

Even the Babylonians knew why Jerusalem fell. It wasn’t because their god outwitted the Judean God, but because of Judah’s refusal to serve their own God:

^{Jeremiah 40:2-3} The captain of the guard called for Jeremiah and said, ‘The Lord your God has brought this disaster on this land, just as he said he would. For these people have sinned against the Lord and disobeyed him. That is why it happened.’