Jeremiah 41
41
Mutiny and murder
1In the seventh month,#41.1 September–October, Tishrei Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son and Elishama’s grandson, who was from a royal family and who was one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son, at Mizpah. While they were eating a meal together, 2Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, and the ten men got up and struck down Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son and Shaphan’s grandson, with the sword. They murdered him because he had been appointed over the region by the king of Babylon. 3Ishmael also murdered all the Judeans who had rallied around Gedaliah at Mizpah as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were posted there.
4The day after Gedaliah was killed, before anyone knew of it, 5eighty men with shaved beards, torn clothes, and gashed bodies arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They were bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the LORD’s temple. 6Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, left Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he reached them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son!” 7When they arrived in the middle of the town, Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, and the men with him slaughtered them and threw their bodies#41.7 Heb lacks and threw their bodies; cf 41:9. into a cistern.
8But there were ten men among them who begged Ishmael, “Don’t kill us; we have wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in a field.” So he stopped and didn’t kill them along with the rest.
(9Now the cistern that Ishmael used to discard the bodies of the men he had killed because of their association with Gedaliah#41.9 Or by the hand of Gedaliah was the one that King Asa had made to defend against Israel’s King Baasha. Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, filled it with the dead.)
10Ishmael captured the rest of the people who were at Mizpah, including the daughters of the king and all those assigned to Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son, at Mizpah by Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard. Then Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, set out to cross over to the Ammonites with the hostages.
11Johanan, Kareah’s son, and all the army officers at his side heard of the terrible acts committed by Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son. 12So they mustered all their forces and went to fight him. They found Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, at the great pool in Gibeon. 13When all those taken by Ishmael at Mizpah saw Johanan, Kareah’s son, and all his army officers with him, they were delighted. 14They rallied around Johanan, Kareah’s son, and returned home with him. 15But Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, and eight of his men eluded Johanan and went to the Ammonites.
16Then Johanan, Kareah’s son, and all the army officers with him took the small group they had rescued in Gibeon, including the soldiers, women, children, and commanding officers that Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, had captured at Mizpah after killing Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son. 17They set out for Egypt, stopping on the way at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem, 18because they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do when they found out that Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, had killed Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the region.
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Jeremiah 41: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 41
41
1 And it happened that, in the seventh month, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama of royal descent, with the nobles of the king, and accompanied by ten men, went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. And they ate bread together there, in Mizpah.
2 Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, rose up, and the ten men who were with him, and they struck down Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and they killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
3 Likewise, Ishmael struck down all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, with the Chaldeans who were found there, and the men of war.
4 Then, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, while no one yet knew of it,
5 men arrived from Shechem, and from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, with their beards shaved, and their garments rent, and unbathed. And they had gifts and frankincense in hand, so that they might make an offering in the house of the Lord.
6 Therefore, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, departing from Mizpah to meet them, went forth weeping as he was walking. And when he had met them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam."
7 And when they had arrived at the center of the city, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, put them to death around the public cistern, 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 in the field we have storehouses of grain and barley and oil and honey." And so he ceased, and he did not put them to death with their brothers.
9 Now the cistern, into which Ishmael cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had struck down because of Gedaliah, is the same one that king Asa made out of fear of Baasha, the king of Israel. This same cistern Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, filled with those who were slain.
10 Then Ishmael led away captive all the remnant of the people who were at Mizpah, the king's daughters as well as all the people who remained at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, had committed to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, seized them and went away, so that he might go over to the sons of Ammon.
11 But Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the fighters who were with him, heard about all the evil that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had done.
12 And taking all the men, they set out to make war against Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah. And they found him at the great waters that are in Gibeon.
13 And when all the people who were with Ishmael had seen Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the fighters who were with him, they rejoiced.
14 And all the people whom Ishmael had seized turned back to Mizpah. And they returned and went over to Johanan, the son of Kareah.
15 But Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, fled with eight men from the face of Johanan, and they went over to the sons of Ammon.
16 Therefore, Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the fighters who were with him, took from Mizpah the entire remnant of the common people, whom they had led away from Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. These were strong men of battle, and women, and children, and eunuchs: those whom he had led away from Gibeon.
17 And they went away and settled as sojourners at Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, so that they might continue on and enter into Egypt,
18 away from the face of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had struck down Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land of Judah.
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