Jeremiah 41:1-18

  • Gedaliah assassinated by Ishmael (1-10)

  • Ishmael put to flight by Johanan (11-18)

41  In the seventh month Ishʹma·el+ son of Neth·a·niʹah son of E·lishʹa·ma, who was of the royal line* and one of the principal men of the king, came with ten other men to Ged·a·liʹah the son of A·hiʹkam at Mizʹpah.+ As they were eating a meal together in Mizʹpah,  Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah and the ten men who were with him rose up and struck down Ged·a·liʹah the son of A·hiʹkam the son of Shaʹphan with the sword. So he put to death the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.  Ishʹma·el also struck down all the Jews who were with Ged·a·liʹah in Mizʹpah, as well as the Chal·deʹan soldiers who were there.  On the second day after Ged·a·liʹah had been put to death, before anyone knew about it,  there came 80 men from Sheʹchem,+ from Shiʹloh,+ and from Sa·marʹi·a.+ Their beards were shaved off, their garments were ripped apart, they had cut themselves,+ and they had grain offerings and frankincense+ in their hand to bring to the house of Jehovah.  So Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah went out from Mizʹpah to meet them, weeping as he walked along. When he encountered them, he said to them: “Come to Ged·a·liʹah the son of A·hiʹkam.”  But when they came into the city, Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah and his men slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern.  But there were ten men among them who said to Ishʹma·el: “Do not put us to death, for we have hidden stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.” So he refrained from putting them to death along with their brothers.  Now Ishʹma·el threw all the carcasses of the men he had killed into a great cistern, the one that King Aʹsa had made because of King Baʹa·sha of Israel.+ This was the cistern that Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah filled with the slain men. 10  Ishʹma·el took captive all the rest of the people in Mizʹpah,+ including the daughters of the king and all the people left in Mizʹpah, whom Neb·uʹzar·adʹan the chief of the guard had put in the custody of Ged·a·liʹah+ the son of A·hiʹkam. Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah took them captive and went off to cross over to the Amʹmon·ites.+ 11  When Jo·haʹnan+ the son of Ka·reʹah and all the army chiefs who were with him heard about all the evil that Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah had done, 12  they took all the men and went off to fight against Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah, and they found him by the great waters* in Gibʹe·on. 13  All the people who were with Ishʹma·el rejoiced when they saw Jo·haʹnan the son of Ka·reʹah and all the army chiefs with him. 14  Then all the people whom Ishʹma·el had taken captive from Mizʹpah+ turned around and went back with Jo·haʹnan the son of Ka·reʹah. 15  But Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah and eight of his men escaped from Jo·haʹnan and went to the Amʹmon·ites. 16  Jo·haʹnan the son of Ka·reʹah and all the army chiefs who were with him took with them the rest of the people from Mizʹpah, those whom they had rescued from Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah after he had struck down Ged·a·liʹah+ the son of A·hiʹkam. They brought the men, the soldiers, the women, the children, and the court officials back from Gibʹe·on. 17  So they went and stayed in the lodging place of Chimʹham next to Bethʹle·hem,+ intending to go on into Egypt+ 18  because of the Chal·deʹans. For they had become afraid of them, since Ishʹma·el the son of Neth·a·niʹah had struck down Ged·a·liʹah the son of A·hiʹkam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.+

Footnotes

Lit., “the seed of the kingdom.”
Or possibly, “great pool.”