1 It was the seventh month when Ishmael son of Nethaniah son of Elisha ma, a member of the royal family who had been chief officer of the king, came with ten men to Ge daliah, son of Ahikam, son of Sha phan at Miz pah. While they were eating together
2 Ishmael 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.
3 Ishmael also killed the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah as well as the Chaldean sol diers who were there.
4 Two days after the assassination of Geda liah and before anyone had heard of it,
5 eighty 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.
6 Ishmael son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them weeping as they went. He said to them,
7 “Come along to Gedaliah, son of Ahi kam.” 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.
8 Ten 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.
9 The 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.
10 Ishmael took captive the small population of Mizpah, the royal princesses whom Nebu zaradan, commander of the bodyguard had left in the care of Ge da liah. Ishmael ob liged them to follow him and set out for the land of the Ammo nites.
11 When Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers with him heard of the crimes of Ishmael they assembled their men and set off to fight Ishmael.
12 They caught up with him at the great pool of Gibeon.
13 As soon as the people Ishmael had taken by force from Mizpah saw Johanan, son of Kareah and the army officers with him, they rejoiced
14 and turned back to join Johanan.
15 In the meantime Ishmael was able to flee from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites.
16 Then 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,
17 and they stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem. They planned to go on later towards Egypt
18 for fear of the Chaldeans because Ishmael had slain Gedaliah who was appointed governor of the land by the king of Babylon.