In the seventh month Ishmaelx son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, 2 Ishmaely son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword,z killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointeda as governor over the land.b 3 Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babyloniana soldiers who were there.

4 The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it, 5 eighty men who had shaved off their beards,c torn their clothesd and cute themselves came from Shechem,f Shilohg and Samaria,h bringing grain offerings and incensei with them to the house of the Lord.j 6 Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weepingk as he went. When he met them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.”l 7 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.m 8 But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field.”n So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others. 9 Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asao had made as part of his defensep against Baashaq king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

10 Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the peopler who were in Mizpah—the king’s daughterss along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.t