^41:7But as soon as they were inside the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw their bodies¹⁰ in a cistern. ^41:8But there were ten men among them who said¹¹ to Ishmael, “Do not kill us. For we will give you the stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey we have hidden in a field.¹² So he spared their lives and did not kill¹³ them along with the rest.¹⁴^41:9Now the cistern where Ishmael threw all the dead bodies of those he had killed was a large one¹⁵ that King Asa had constructed as part of his defenses against King Baasha of Israel.¹⁶ Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with dead bodies.¹⁷

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Footnotes

10 The words “and threw their bodies” result from the significant use of the preposition אֶל (’el, so §119.gg and 39 אֶל 1). Hence the suggestion in (fn a) that the and two Greek are reading a different text is not really a textual issue but a translational one; the versions are supplying the words for stylistic purposes as has been done here.
11 Heb “But there were ten men found among them and they said.” However, for the use of “were found” = “be, happened to be” see 594 מָצָא 2.c and compare the usage in 41:3.
12 This sentence is a good example of the elliptical nature of some of the causal connections in the Hebrew Bible. All the Hebrew says literally is “For we have hidden stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey in a field.” However, it is obvious that they are using this as their bargaining chip to prevent Ishmael and his men from killing them. For the use of “for” (כִּי, ki) for such elliptical thoughts see 473–74 כִּי 3.c.
13 Or “So he refrained from killing them”; Heb “he refrained and did not kill them.”
14 Heb “in the midst of their brothers/fellow countrymen.”
15 The translation here follows the reading of the Greek version. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain; some understand it to mean “because of Gedaliah [i.e., to cover up the affair with Gedaliah]” and others understand it to mean “alongside of Gedaliah.” The translation presupposes that the Hebrew text reads בּוֹר גָּדוֹל הוּא (bor gadol hu’) in place of בְּיַד־גְּדַלְיָהוּ הוּא (béyad-gédalyahu). The meaning of בְּיַד (béyad) does not fit any of the normal ones given for this expression and those who retain the Hebrew text normally explain it as an unparalleled use of “because” or “in the affair of” (so ) or a rare use meaning “near, by the side of “(see 391 יָד 5.d where only Ps 141:6 and Zech 4:12 are cited. themselves suggest reading with the Greek version as the present translation does [so 391 יָד 5.c(3)]). For the syntax presupposed by the Greek text which has been followed consult §16.3.3d and 133 §8.4.2b. The first clause is a classifying clause with normal order of subject-predicate-copulative pronoun and it is followed by a further qualifying relative clause.
16 It is generally agreed that the cistern referred to here is one of several that Asa dug for supplying water as part of the defense system constructed at Mizpah (cf. 1 Kgs 15:22; 2 Chr 16:6).
17 Or “with corpses”; Heb “with the slain.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.

Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with Gedaliah was the large cistern that King Asa had made for defense against Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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. But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field.” 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 had made as part of his defense against Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.

However, there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field—wheat, barley, oil, and honey!” So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions. Now the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men he had struck down was a large one that King Asa had made in the encounter with King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

NLTNew Living Translation

But as soon as they were all inside the town, Ishmael and his men killed all but ten of them and threw their bodies into a cistern. The other ten had talked Ishmael into letting them go by promising to bring him their stores of wheat, barley, olive oil, and honey that they had hidden away. The cistern where Ishmael dumped the bodies of the men he murdered was the large one dug by King Asa when he fortified Mizpah to protect himself against King Baasha of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with corpses.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And then, the moment of their coming to the middle of the city, then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, along with the men who were with him, slaughtered them and threw them to the middle of the pit. But ten men were found among them, and they said to Ishmael, “You must not kill us, for we have hidden treasures in the field, wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey. So he refrained and he did not kill them in the midst of their fellow countrymen. Now the pit into which Ishmael threw all the corpses of the men whom he had killed along with Gedaliah was the same one that King Asa had made because of Baasha the king of Israel, who was against him. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain ones.

KJV 1900King James Version

And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him. But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren. Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.

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