Jer 40:15-41:15 | ESV | STEP | Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah , Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah , and no one will know it. Why should he take your life , so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered , and the remnant of Judah would perish ?

15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, ^aand the remnant of Judah would perish?” 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.”

Jeremiah 41:1-15

Gedaliah Murdered

1 ^bIn the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^cMizpah. As they ^date bread together there at Mizpah, 2 ^eIshmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, ^fwhom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at ^gMizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.

4 On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, 5 eighty men arrived from ^hShechem and ⁱShiloh and ^jSamaria, with ^ktheir beards shaved and ^ltheir clothes torn, and ^mtheir bodies gashed, ⁿbringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from ^oMizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” 7 When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. 8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have ^pstores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.

9 Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with ^{▼▼Hebrew by the hand of} Gedaliah was the large cistern that ^rKing Asa had made for defense against ^sBaasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, ^tthe king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom ^uNebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to ^vthe Ammonites.

11 But when ^wJohanan the son of Kareah and ^xall the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at ^ythe great pool that is in ^zGibeon. 13 And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and ^aaall the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. 14 ^abSo 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 ^acthe Ammonites.