Now ^ain the ¹seventh month ^bIshmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family of David and one of the princes of the king, came at the instigation of the Ammonites with ten men to ^cGedaliah the son of Ahikam in Mizpah. As they ^dwere eating a meal together there in Mizpah, 2 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and ^astruck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and ^bkilled the one ^cwhom the king of Babylon had appointed governor over the land. 2+@Kin 25:25 3 Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were at the banquet with Gedaliah at Mizpah, in addition to the Chaldean soldiers who were there.

4 Now it happened on the second day after the killing of Gedaliah, before anyone knew about it, 5 that eighty men ^acame from ^bShechem, from ^cShiloh, and from ^dSamaria with ^etheir beards shaved off and their clothes torn and their bodies ^fcut, carrying in their hands grain offerings and incense to present at the site of the ^ghouse of the LORD in Jerusalem. 6 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, ^aweeping false tears as he went. As he met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!” 7 Yet when they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him ^aslaughtered them and threw them into the cistern (underground water reservoir) . 8 But ten men who were among them said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us! We have ^astores of wheat and barley and oil and honey hidden in the field.” So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions.

9 Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men whom he had killed along with Gedaliah was the ^aone which King Asa of Judah had made about three hundred years earlier ^bon account of King Baasha of Israel believing that Baasha would lay siege to Mizpah. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the bodies of those who were killed. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the ^arest of the people who were in Mizpah—even the king’s ^bdaughters (ladies of the court) and all the people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put under the charge of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and crossed over the Jordan to meet his allies the ^cAmmonites.

11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the ^acommanders of the forces that were with him heard of the murderous behavior of Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, 12 they took all their men and went to ^afight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and found him by the ^bgreat pool in Gibeon. 13 Now when all the captive people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were glad. 14 So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and joined Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah ^aescaped from Johanan with eight men and went to join the Ammonites. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah ^aall the people whom he had rescued from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: the soldiers, the women, the children, and the high officials whom Johanan had brought back from Gibeon. 17 And they went and stayed in Geruth the ^alodging place of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, intending to ^bgo to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans; for they were ^aafraid of them because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the ^bking of Babylon had appointed governor over the land and whose death the king might avenge.