Jeremias 41

¹ Now it came to pass in theThe city was destroyed in the fourth month and in the seventh month, which contained part of September and part of October, the governor Gedaliah was slain.seventh month, [that] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of theMeaning, Zedekiah.king, even ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there theyThey ate together as familiar friends.ate bread together in Mizpah.

² Then arose Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah with these tenne men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam the sonne of Shaphan with the sword, and slewe him, whom the King of Babel had made gouernour ouer the lande.

³ Ishmael also slewe all the Iewes that were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and all the Caldeans that were found there, and the men of warre.

⁴ Now the second day that he had slaine Gedaliah, and no man knewe it,

⁵ That there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, [even] eighty men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes torn, and having cut themselves, withFor they thought that the temple had not been destroyed and therefore came up to the feast of tabernacles but hearing of the burning of it in the way, they showed these signs of sorrow.offerings and incense in their hand, to bring [them] to the house of the LORD.

⁶ And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said to them, ComeFor his death was kept secret, and he pretended that he lamented for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple but later slew them when they seemed to favour Gedaliah.to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

⁷ And when they came into the middes of the citie, Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah slewe them, and cast them into the middes of the pit, he and the men that were with him.

⁸ But tenne men were founde among them, that saide vnto Ishmael, Slay vs not: for we haue treasures in the fielde, of wheate, and of barley, and of oyle, and of honie: so he stayed, and slew them not among their brethren.

⁹ Now the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, [was] that which Asa the king hadAsa fortified Mizpah for fear of the enemy, and dug ditches and trenches, (1Ki_15:22).made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: [and] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with [them that were] slain.

¹⁰ Then Ishmael caryed away captiue all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, euen the Kings daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-adan the chiefe steward had committed to Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam, and Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah caried them away captiue, and departed to goe ouer to the Ammonites.

¹¹ But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all theWho had been captains under Zedekiah.captains of the forces that [were] with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

¹² Then they all tooke their men, and went to fight with Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah, & founde him by ye great waters that are in Gibeon.

¹³ Nowe when all the people whom Ishmael caryed away captiue, sawe Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and all the captaines of the hoste, that were with him, they were glad.

¹⁴ So all the people, that Ishmael had caryed away captiue from Mizpah, returned and came againe, & went vnto Iohanan the sonne of Kareah.

¹⁵ But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to theFor Baalis the king of the Ammonites was the cause of this murder.Ammonites.

¹⁶ Then tooke Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, and all the captaines of the hoste that were with him, all the remnant of the people, whom Ishmael the sonne of Nethaniah had caried away captiue from Mizpah, (after that he had slaine Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam) euen the strong men of warre, and the women, and the children, and the eunuches, whom hee had brought againe from Gibeon:

¹⁷ And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation ofWhich place David of old had given to Chimham the son of Barzillai the Gileadite, (2Sa_19:38).Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,

¹⁸ Because of the Caldeans: for they feared them, because Ishmael ye sonne of Nethaniah had slaine Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam, whom the King of Babel made gouernour in the land.