Gedaliah Is Assassinated

⁷ All the army officers who were still in the field and all their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam to be governor of the land, and that he had given him authority over the men, women, children, and over the poorest people of the land—those who were not carried away into exile in Babylon. ⁸ They and their men went to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Ja’azaniah^[a] the son of the Ma’acathite. ⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath in the presence of them and their men. He said, “Do not be afraid of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. ¹⁰ As for me, I will certainly stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, store up wine, summer fruit, and oil, put it into your jars, and live in the towns you have taken over.”