Jer 41 | EE | STEP | Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, came to Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son, at Mizpah in the 7th month. Ishmael was a relative of the king and he had 10 men with him. He had been an officer of the king. They were all eating a meal together.

Jeremiah 41

1 Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, came to Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son, at Mizpah in the 7th month. Ishmael was a relative of the king and he had 10 men with him. He had been an officer of the king. They were all eating a meal together. 2 During the meal, Ishmael and his 10 men stood up and they killed Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan. They killed Gedaliah with their swords. They killed the man that the king of Babylon had chosen to rule the country. 3 Ishmael also killed the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah. And he killed the soldiers from Babylon who were there.

4 ^{▼▼This verse is empty because in this translation its contents have been moved to form part of verse Jer 41:5.} ^{▼▼In this translation, this verse contains text which in some other translations appears in verses Jer 41:4-Jer 41:5.}5 The day after Gedaliah died, 80 Jews came to the temple with grain and with nice oils. They came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria to offer them to the LORD. Nobody knew that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah. 6 Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, went out from Mizpah to meet them. He was crying while he went. ‘Come to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam’, he said, when he met them. 7 They came into the city. Then Nethaniah’s son Ishmael and the men who were with him killed them. They threw their dead bodies into a hole in the ground. 8 But 10 men said, ‘Do not kill us! We have wheat, barley, oil and honey that we have hidden in a field.’ So he let them go and he did not kill them with the other men. 9 He had thrown Gedaliah’s body into a hole that King Asa had dug. Asa had dug many holes to save himself from Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, filled this hole with dead bodies.

10 Ishmael caused all the other people who were in Mizpah to become his prisoners. He took the king’s daughters and all the other people who remained there. Nebuzaradan, captain of the king’s special soldiers, had said that Gedaliah, Ahikam’s son, must rule over those people. Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son, made them his prisoners. And he started to take them to the country called Ammon.

11 People told Johanan, Kareah’s son, and the army officers with him about the bad things that Ishmael had done. 12 So they took all their men and they went to fight Ishmael, Nethaniah’s son. They found him near the big pool in Gibeon. 13 All the people that were with Ishmael saw Johanan and the soldiers with him. They were happy when they saw them. 14 All the people that Ishmael had taken as prisoners at Mizpah left Ishmael. They went to join Johanan, son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, ran away from Johanan. He and 8 men went to Ammon.

Johanan takes the people to Egypt.

16 Johanan, Kareah’s son, and the officers with him took away the people who had come from Mizpah. They were the people that he had saved from Ishmael, son of Nethaniah. Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam. These people were the soldiers, women, children and officers that Johanan brought from Gibeon. 17 These people went towards Egypt. They stopped at Geruth-Chimham on the way to Egypt. That is near Bethlehem. 18 They wanted to run away from the soldiers from Babylon. They were afraid because Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, had killed Gedaliah. And the king of Babylon had said that Gedaliah should rule Israel.