Jeremiah 41

Translated from the Hebrew of the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Tap a verse to see why it reads as it does. Tap a small letter to read its footnote.

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Ishmael kills Gedaliah

¹In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, who was of royal descent and one of the king’s chief officers, came to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, bringing ten men with him. There at Mizpah they ate a meal together. ²Then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword. So he killed the man whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor of the land. ³Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there. ⁴On the day after Gedaliah’s murder, before anyone knew about it, ⁵eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria. Their beards were shaved, their clothes torn and their bodies gashed, and they were carrying grain offerings and frankincense to bring to the house of the LORD. ⁶Ishmael son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along. When he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.”

⁷But as soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and his men slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern. ⁸But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us! We have stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the countryside.” So he held back and did not kill them along with their companions. ⁹The cistern where Ishmael threw the bodies of all the men he had struck down along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa had made for defense against Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with those he had killed. ¹⁰Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were at Mizpah: the king’s daughters and all the others left at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had placed in the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah carried them off as captives and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.

Johanan brings the captives back

¹¹When Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces with him heard of all the evil Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done, ¹²they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him by the great pool in Gibeon. ¹³When all the people Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces with him, they were glad. ¹⁴All the people Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and went back over to Johanan son of Kareah. ¹⁵But Ishmael son of Nethaniah got away from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.

¹⁶Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces with him took charge of all the rest of the people from Mizpah. Johanan had rescued them from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after the murder of Gedaliah son of Ahikam. They were fighting men, women, children and court officers, whom Johanan had brought back from Gibeon. ¹⁷They set out and stopped at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, on their way to Egypt, ¹⁸to escape the Chaldeans. They were afraid of them, because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor of the land.