⁴ On the day after the murder of Gedali′ah, before any one knew of it, ⁵ eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samar′ia, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing cereal offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. ⁶ And Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah came out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam.” ⁷ When they came into the city, Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah and the men with him slew them, and cast them into a cistern. ⁸ But there were ten men among them who said to Ish′mael, “Do not kill us, for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not kill them with their companions.

⁹ Now the cistern into which Ish′mael cast all the bodies of the men whom he had slain was the large cistern^[a] which King Asa had made for defense against Ba′asha king of Israel; Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah filled it with the slain.