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¹ NOW it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, and twenty men with him came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.² Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the twenty men who were with him rose up and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor over the land of Judah.³ Ishmael also slew all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Chaldeans who were found there and the men of war.⁴ And it came to pass the second day after Gedaliah had been slain, and no man had heard of it,⁵ That there came certain men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, agitated, having their beards shaven and their clothes torn, carrying offerings and incense to bring them to the house of the LORD.⁶ And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.⁷ And when they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slew them and cast them into a pit.⁸ But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, Do not kill us; for we have in the field stores of wheat and of barley and of oil and honey. So he spared their lives, and did not slay them with their brethren.⁹ Now the pit into which Ishmael cast all dead bodies of the men whom he had slain with Gedaliah was the same pit which Asa the king of Judah had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel; that same pit Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled with the slain.¹⁰ Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people that were in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the general of the guard had entrusted to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to cross over to the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the generals of the forces who were with him heard of all the booty that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had carried away,¹² They took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon.¹³ Now it carne to pass when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, then they rejoiced.¹⁴ So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned back and came to Johanan the son of Kareah.¹⁵ But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.¹⁶ Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, and carried away the men of war, the women and the children and the eunuchs whom he had brought back from Gibeon;¹⁷ And they departed and dwelt at the threshing floors of Bimham, which is by the side of Bethlehem, to go into Egypt¹⁸ Because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.