Jeremiah 41
Legacy Standard Bible
Ishmael Strikes Down Gedaliah
41 (A)Now it happened in the seventh month, that (B)Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to (C)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And they (D)were eating bread together there in Mizpah. 2 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him arose and (E)struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and (F)put to death the one (G)whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
4 Now it happened on the [a]next day after putting Gedaliah to death, when no one knew about it, 5 that eighty men (H)came from (I)Shechem, from (J)Shiloh, and from (K)Samaria with (L)their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and [b]their bodies (M)gashed, having grain offerings and frankincense in their hands to bring to the (N)house of Yahweh. 6 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, (O)weeping as he went; and it happened that as he encountered them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” 7 But it happened that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him (P)slaughtered them and cast them into the cistern. 8 But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death; for we have (Q)stores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the field.” So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their [c]companions.
9 Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he had struck down [d]because of Gedaliah, it was the (R)one that King Asa had made on (S)account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the (T)remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the (U)king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, over whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; thus Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and went to cross over to the sons of (V)Ammon.
Johanan Rescues the People
11 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the (W)commanders of the military forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done. 12 So they took all the men and went to (X)fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and they found him by the (Y)great [e]pool that is in Gibeon. 13 Now it happened as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the military forces that were with him, they were glad. 14 So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and returned and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah (Z)escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the sons of Ammon. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the military forces that were with him took from Mizpah (AA)all the remnant of the people whom he had returned from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the mighty men who were men of war, the women, the little ones, and the eunuchs, whom he had returned from Gibeon. 17 And they went and stayed in [f](AB)Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to (AC)proceed into Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans; for they were (AD)afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom (AE)the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 41:4 Or second
- Jeremiah 41:5 Lit having cut themselves
- Jeremiah 41:8 Lit brothers
- Jeremiah 41:9 Or by the side of
- Jeremiah 41:12 Lit waters
- Jeremiah 41:17 Or the lodging place of Chimham
Jeremiah 41
Revised Standard Version
Insurrection against Gedaliah
41 In the seventh month, Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, son of Elish′ama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, at Mizpah. As they ate bread together there at Mizpah, 2 Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. 3 Ish′mael also slew all the Jews who were with Gedali′ah at Mizpah, and the Chalde′an soldiers who happened to be there.
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. 10 Then Ish′mael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom Nebu′zarad′an, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam. Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.
11 But when Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil which Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had done, 12 they took all their men and went to fight against Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah. They came upon him at the great pool which is in Gib′eon. 13 And when all the people who were with Ish′mael saw Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. 14 So all the people whom Ish′mael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah. 15 But Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah escaped from Joha′nan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. 16 Then Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah and all the leaders of the forces with him took all the rest of the people whom Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had carried away captive[b] from Mizpah after he had slain Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam—soldiers, women, children, and eunuchs, whom Joha′nan brought back from Gib′eon. 17 And they went and stayed at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, intending to go to Egypt 18 because of the Chalde′ans; for they were afraid of them, because Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah had slain Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 41:9 Gk: Heb he had slain by the hand of Gedaliah
- Jeremiah 41:16 Cn: Heb whom he recovered from Ishmael
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