Jeremiah 41

1 Now it came about in the seventh month that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the king's seed, having with him ten men, came to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, in Mizpah; and they had a meal together in Mizpah.

Ishmael was a member of the king’s family. He had been one of King Zedekiah’s important officials. In October of that year, he went to Mizpah with ten other men to [talk with] Gedaliah. While they were eating together,

2 Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who were with him, got up, and attacking Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, put to death him whom the king of Babylon had made ruler over the land.

Ishmael and the other ten men jumped up, and with their swords they killed Gedaliah—the man whom the king of Babylon had appointed to be their governor!

3 And Ishmael put to death all the Jews who were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldaean men of war.

Ishmael [and the other men] also killed all the Jews and the soldiers from Babylonia who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah.

4 Now on the second day after he had put Gedaliah to death, when no one had knowledge of it,

The next day, before anyone had found out that Gedaliah had been murdered,

5 Some people came from Shechem, from Shiloh and Samaria, eighty men, with the hair of their faces cut off and their clothing out of order, and with cuts on their bodies, and in their hands meal offerings and perfumes which they were taking to the house of the Lord.

eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria [cities] came to worship at the temple of Yahweh [in Mizpah]. They had shaved off their beards and torn their clothes and cut themselves [to show that they were mourning]. And they had brought grain offerings and incense [to burn on the altar].

6 And Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went out from Mizpah with the purpose of meeting them, weeping on his way: and it came about that when he was face to face with them he said, Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam.

Ishmael went out of the city to meet them, crying as he went. When he reached them, he said, “Come [and see what has happened to] Gedaliah!”

7 And when they came inside the town, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and the men who were with him, put them to death and put their bodies into a deep hole.

But as soon as they had all entered the town, Ishmael and his men killed [most of] them and threw their corpses into a well.

8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, Do not put us to death, for we have secret stores, in the country, of grain and oil and honey. So he did not put them to death with their countrymen.

There were [only] ten of them whom they (spared/did not kill). They were not killed because they promised to Ishmael that [if he allowed them to remain alive, they would bring him] lots of wheat and barley and olive oil and honey that they had hidden.

9 Now the hole into which Ishmael had put the dead bodies of the men whom he had put to death, was the great hole which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha, king of Israel: and Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, made it full of the bodies of those who had been put to death.

The well where Ishmael’s men had thrown the corpses of the men whom they had murdered was the deep well that King Asa’s [men] had dug [in order that they would have water in the city] if the army of King Baasha of Israel would surround the city. Ishmael’s men filled that well with corpses.

10 Then Ishmael took away as prisoners all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people still in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the armed men, had put under the care of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam: Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, took them away prisoners with the purpose of going over to the children of Ammon.

Then Ishmael [and his men] captured the king’s daughters and some of the other people who had been left in Mizpah by Nebuzaradan in order that Gedaliah would take care of them. Ishmael and his men took those people and started back toward the Ammon area.

11 But when Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the armed forces who were with him, had news of all the evil which Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had done,

But Johanan and all the other leaders of the Israeli soldiers who had not surrendered to the army of Babylonia heard about what Ishmael [and his men] had done.

12 They took their men and went out to make war on Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and they came face to face with him by the great waters in Gibeon.

So they [immediately] went with all their men to stop them. They caught up with them at the large pool near Gibeon [city].

13 Now when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces with him, then they were glad.

When all the people whom Ishmael and his men had captured saw Johanan and the soldiers who were with him, they [shouted] joyfully.

14 And all the people whom Ishmael had taken away prisoners from Mizpah, turning round, came back and went to Johanan, the son of Kareah.

So all those who had been captured in Mizpah escaped, and they started to help Johanan.

15 But Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, got away from Johanan, with eight men, and went to the children of Ammon.

But Ishmael and eight of his men escaped and fled to the Ammon area.

16 Then Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, took all the rest of the people whom Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had made prisoners, after he had put to death Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the people from Mizpah, that is, the men of war and the women and the children and the unsexed servants, whom he had taken back with him from Gibeon:

Then Johanan and the men who were with him [gathered together] all the people whom they had rescued at Gibeon. They included soldiers and women and children and some of the king’s palace officials. They were all people whom Ishmael [and his men] had captured after they had killed Gedaliah.

17 And they went and were living in the resting-place of Chimham, which is near Beth-lehem on the way into Egypt,

They took them all to Geruth-Kimham [village] near Bethlehem. And they all prepared to go to Egypt.

18 Because of the Chaldaeans: for they were in fear of them because Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had put to death Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made ruler over the land.

They were worried about what the soldiers of Babylonia [would do to them when they found out] that Ishmael had killed Gedaliah, who had been appointed by the King of Babylonia to be their governor.