Insurrection Against Gedaliah

41 Now it came to pass in the seventh month ^(A)that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal ^[a]family and of the officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^(B)Mizpah. And there they ate bread together in Mizpah. ² Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, arose and ^(C)struck Gedaliah the son of ^(D)Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him whom the king of Babylon had made ^(E)governor over the land. ³ Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

⁴ And it happened, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when as yet no one knew it, ⁵ that certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men ^(F)with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to ^(G)the house of the Lord. ⁶ Now Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went along; and it happened as he met them that he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” ⁷ So it was, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah ^(H)killed them and cast them into the midst of a ^[b]pit, he and the men who were with him. ⁸ But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have treasures of wheat, barley, oil, and honey in the field.” So he desisted and did not kill them among their brethren. ⁹ Now the ^[c]pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, because of Gedaliah, was ^(I)the same one Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. ¹⁰ Then Ishmael carried away captive all the ^(J)rest of the people who were in Mizpah, ^(K)the king’s daughters and all the people who remained in Mizpah, ^(L)whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to go over to ^(M)the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when ^(N)Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, ¹² they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah; and they found him by ^(O)the great pool that is in Gibeon. ¹³ So it was, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, that they were glad. ¹⁴ Then 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 the Ammonites.

¹⁶ Then Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, took from Mizpah all the ^(P)rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah after he had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—the mighty men of war and the women and the children and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. ¹⁷ And they departed and dwelt in the habitation of ^(Q)Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, as they went on their way to ^(R)Egypt, ¹⁸ because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had murdered Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, ^(S)whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land.

The Corinthians’ Repentance

² Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, ^(A)we have cheated no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn; for ^(B)I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ^4 (C)Great is my boldness of speech toward you, ^(D)great is my boasting on your behalf. ^(E)I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

⁵ For indeed, ^(F)when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but ^(G)we were troubled on every side. ^(H)Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. ⁶ Nevertheless ^(I)God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by ^(J)the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the ^[a]consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

⁸ For even if I made you ^(K)sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; ^(L)though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. ⁹ Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰ For ^(M)godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; ^(N)but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what ^(O)clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be ^(P)clear in this matter. ¹² Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, ^(Q)but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.

The Joy of Titus

¹³ Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit ^(R)has been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴ For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. ¹⁵ And his affections are greater for you as he remembers ^(S)the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. ¹⁶ Therefore I rejoice that ^(T)I have confidence in you in everything.