1It was the seventh month when Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elishama, a member of the royal family who had been chief officer of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan at Mizpah. While they were eating together 2Ishmael and the men with him stood up and slew Gedaliah with the sword, thus killing the man whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor of the land.
3Ishmael also killed the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there.
4Two days after the assassination of Gedaliah and before anyone had heard of it, 5eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria arrived with beards shaved, torn clothes and their bodies slashed, carrying offerings and incense to the House of Yahweh.
6Ishmael son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them weeping as they went. He said to them, 7“Come along to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam.” But as soon as he came to the center of the town, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him killed them and threw their bodies into a cistern. 8Ten of these men, however, said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us for we have provisions hidden in the country, corn, oil barley and honey.” These Ishmael did not kill with the others.
9The cistern where Ishmael had thrown the corpses of these people he had killed was the large cistern built by King Asa when he had to defend himself against Basha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with their corpses.
10Ishmael took captive the small population of Mizpah, the royal princesses whom Nebuzaradan, commander of the bodyguard had left in the care of Gedaliah. Ishmael ob liged them to follow him and set out for the land of the Ammonites.
11When Johananson of Kareah and the army officers with him heard of the crimes of Ishmael they assembled their men and set off to fight Ishmael. 12They caught up with him at the great pool of Gibeon.
13As soon as the people Ishmael had taken by force from Mizpah saw Johanan, son of Kareah and the army officers with him, they rejoiced 14and turned back to join Johanan. 15In the meantime Ishmael was able to flee from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.
16Then Johanan and the army officers with him took the people he had rescued from Ishmael, son of Nethaniah. They were those men, women, children and court officials that Ishmael carried off by force from Mizpah after slaying Gedaliah. Johanan brought them from Gibeon, 17and they stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem. They planned to go on later towards Egypt 18for fear of the Chaldeans because Ishmael had slain Gedaliah who was appointed governor of the land by the king of Babylon.
