Jeremiah 41:1–10

Gedaliah Assassinated by Ishmael

41In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with 10 men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. They ate a meal together there in Mizpah, ²but then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the 10 men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword; he killed the one the king of Babylon had appointed in the land. ^m3Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there. ⁿ

⁴On the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when no one knew yet, ⁵80 men came from Shechem, Shiloh, ^oand Samaria ^pwho had shaved their beards, ^qtorn their garments, and gashed themselves, and ^rwho were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of the Lord. ^s6Ishmael son of Nethaniah came out of Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. When he encountered them, he said: “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam!” ⁷But when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into ^ta cistern.

⁸However, there were 10 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. ⁹Now the cistern where Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men he had struck down was a large one ^uthat King Asa had made in the encounter with Baasha king of Israel. ^vIshmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

¹⁰Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people of Mizpah including the daughters of the king—all those who remained in Mizpah over whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set off to cross over to the Ammonites. ^w