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41 And it cometh to pass, in the seventh month, come hath Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and of the chiefs of the king, and ten men with him, unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and they eat there bread together in Mizpah.

And Ishmael son of Nethaniah riseth, and the ten men who have been with him, and they smite Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and he putteth him to death whom the king of Babylon hath appointed over the land.

And all the Jews who have been with him, with Gedaliah, in Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who have been found there -- the men of war -- hath Ishmael smitten.

And it cometh to pass, on the second day of the putting of Gedaliah to death, (and no one hath known,)

that men come in from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria -- eighty men -- with shaven beards, and rent garments, and cutting themselves, and an offering and frankincense in their hand, to bring in to the house of Jehovah.

And Ishmael son of Nethaniah goeth forth to meet them, from Mizpah, going on and weeping, and it cometh to pass, at meeting them, that he saith unto them, `Come in unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam.'

And it cometh to pass, at their coming in unto the midst of the city, that Ishmael son of Nethaniah doth slaughter them, at the midst of the pit, he and the men who [are] with him.

And ten men have been found among them, and they say unto Ishmael, `Do not put us to death, for we have things hidden in the field -- wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey.' And he forbeareth, and hath not put them to death in the midst of their brethren.

And the pit whither Ishmael hath cast all the carcases of the men whom he hath smitten along with Gedaliah, is that which the king Asa made because of Baasha king of Israel -- it hath Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled with the pierced.

10 And Ishmael taketh captive all the remnant of the people who [are] in Mizpah, the daughters of the king, and all the people who are left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-Adan, chief of the executioners, hath committed [to] Gedaliah son of Ahikam, and Ishmael son of Nethaniah taketh them captive, and goeth to pass over unto the sons of Ammon.

11 And hear doth Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces that [are] with him, of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah hath done,

12 and they take all the men, and go to fight with Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and they find him at the great waters that [are] in Gibeon.

13 And it cometh to pass, when all the people who [are] with Ishmael see Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces who [are] with him, that they rejoice.

14 And all the people whom Ishmael hath taken captive from Mizpah turn round, yea, they turn back, and go unto Johanan son of Kareah.

15 And Ishmael son of Nethaniah hath escaped, with eight men, from the presence of Johanan, and he goeth unto the sons of Ammon.

16 And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces who [are] with him, take all the remnant of the people whom he hath brought back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah -- after he had smitten Gedaliah son of Ahikam -- mighty ones, men of war, and women, and infants, and eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon,

17 and they go and abide in the habitations of Chimham, that [are] near Beth-Lehem, to go to enter Egypt,

18 from the presence of the Chaldeans, for they have been afraid of them, for Ishmael son of Nethaniah had smitten Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

41 In the seventh month Ishmael(A) son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, Ishmael(B) son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword,(C) killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed(D) as governor over the land.(E) Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian[a] soldiers who were there.

The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it, eighty men who had shaved off their beards,(F) torn their clothes(G) and cut(H) themselves came from Shechem,(I) Shiloh(J) and Samaria,(K) bringing grain offerings and incense(L) with them to the house of the Lord.(M) Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping(N) as he went. When he met them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.”(O) When they went into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.(P) But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field.”(Q) So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others. Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa(R) had made as part of his defense(S) against Baasha(T) king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

10 Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people(U) who were in Mizpah—the king’s daughters(V) along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.(W)

11 When Johanan(X) son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, 12 they took all their men and went to fight(Y) Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool(Z) in Gibeon. 13 When all the people(AA) Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad. 14 All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah(AB) turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped(AC) from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.

Flight to Egypt

16 Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers(AD) who were with him led away all the people of Mizpah who had survived,(AE) whom Johanan had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam—the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had recovered from Gibeon. 17 And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham(AF) near Bethlehem(AG) on their way to Egypt(AH) 18 to escape the Babylonians.[b] They were afraid(AI) of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah(AJ) son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 41:3 Or Chaldean
  2. Jeremiah 41:18 Or Chaldeans