Jeremiah 41
English Standard Version
Gedaliah Murdered
41 (A)In the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at (B)Mizpah. As they (C)ate bread together there at Mizpah, 2 (D)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, (E)whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at (F)Mizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.
4 On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, 5 eighty men arrived from (G)Shechem and (H)Shiloh and (I)Samaria, with (J)their beards shaved and (K)their clothes torn, and (L)their bodies gashed, (M)bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from (N)Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” 7 When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. 8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have (O)stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.
9 Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with[a] Gedaliah was the large cistern that (P)King Asa had made for defense against (Q)Baasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, (R)the king's daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom (S)Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to (T)the Ammonites.
11 But when (U)Johanan the son of Kareah and (V)all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at (W)the great pool that is in (X)Gibeon. 13 And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and (Y)all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. 14 (Z)So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to (AA)the Ammonites. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and (AB)all the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, (AC)women, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from (AD)Gibeon. 17 And they went and stayed at Geruth (AE)Chimham near (AF)Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, (AG)whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 41:9 Hebrew by the hand of
Jeremiah 41
International Standard Version
Gedaliah is Assassinated
41 In the seventh month, Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, the grandson of Elishama, a member of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, came to Ahikam’s son Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ten men. While they were dining together there at Mizpah, 2 Nethaniah’s son Ishmael and the ten men with him got up and killed Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, with swords and killed the man whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with him (that is, with Gedaliah) at Mizpah, along with the Chaldean soldiers who were found there.
4 Now on the day after Gedaliah was killed, when as yet no one knew about it,[a] 5 eighty men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria came with their beards shaved, their clothes torn, and their bodies slashed. They had grain offerings and incense with them to present at the Lord’s Temple.
6 Nethaniah’s son Ishmael went out from Mizpah to meet them, crying as he went. As he met them he told them, “Come meet with Ahikam’s son Gedaliah.” 7 When they reached the middle of the city, Nethaniah’s son Ishmael and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.[b]
8 Ten men who were among[c] them told Ishmael, “Don’t kill us, because we have stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field.” So Ishmael stopped and did not kill them or their companions. 9 Ishmael threw the bodies of the men he killed on account of Gedaliah into the cistern that King Asa had made for protection against[d] King Baasha of Israel. That is the same one Nethaniah’s son Ishmael filled with those he killed. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, including the king’s daughters and all the rest of the people in Mizpah over whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had appointed Ahikam’s son Gedaliah. Nethaniah’s son Ishmael took them captive and then set out to cross over to the Ammonites.
The Captives Rescued; Ishmael Escapes
11 Kareah’s son Jonathan and all the military leaders who were with him heard about all the terrible things that Nethaniah’s son Ishmael had done. 12 So they took all the men and went to fight Nethaniah’s son Ishmael, and they found him at the large pool that is at Gibeon. 13 When all the people who were with Ishmael saw Kareah’s son Jonathan and all the military leaders who were with him, they were glad. 14 All the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and went back to Kareah’s son Jonathan. 15 But Nethaniah’s son Ishmael and eight other[e] men escaped from Jonathan and went to the Ammonites. 16 Kareah’s son Jonathan and all the military leaders who were with him took all the rest of the people from Mizpah whom he had rescued[f] from Nethaniah’s son Ishmael after he had killed Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, including the young men, the soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs[g] whom he had rescued from Gibeon. 17 They traveled and then stopped at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem on their way to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans. They were afraid of the Chaldeans[h] because Nethaniah’s son Ishmael had killed Ahikam’s son Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 41:4 The Heb. lacks about it
- Jeremiah 41:7 Lit. slaughtered them to the middle of the cistern
- Jeremiah 41:8 Lit. found among
- Jeremiah 41:9 Lit. made on account of
- Jeremiah 41:15 The Heb. lacks other
- Jeremiah 41:16 Lit. brought back
- Jeremiah 41:16 Or officials
- Jeremiah 41:18 Lit. them
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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