Jeremiah 41
1 And it happened that, in the seventh month, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama of royal descent, with the nobles of the king, and accompanied by ten men, went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, at Mizpah. And they ate bread together there, in Mizpah.
The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord (now Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the country of his dominion, were warring against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Juda, ) saying,
2 Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, rose up, and the ten men who were with him, and they struck down Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and they killed him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Thus has the Lord said; Go to Sedekias king of Juda, and you shall say to him, Thus has the Lord said, This city shall certainly be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it, and shall burn it with fire:
3 Likewise, Ishmael struck down all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, with the Chaldeans who were found there, and the men of war.
and you shall not escape out of his hand, but shall certainly be taken, and shall be given into his hands; and your eyes shall see his eyes, and you shall enter into Babylon.
4 Then, on the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, while no one yet knew of it,
But hear the word of the Lord, O Sedekias king of Juda; Thus says the Lord,
5 men arrived from Shechem, and from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, with their beards shaved, and their garments rent, and unbathed. And they had gifts and frankincense in hand, so that they might make an offering in the house of the Lord.
You shall die in peace: and as they wept for your fathers that reigned before you, they shall weep also for you, [saying], Ah lord! and they shall lament for you down to the grave: for I have spoken the word, said the Lord.
6 Therefore, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, departing from Mizpah to meet them, went forth weeping as he was walking. And when he had met them, he said to them, “Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam.”
And Jeremias spoke to king Sedekias all these words in Jerusalem.
7 And when they had arrived at the center of the city, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, put them to death around the public cistern, he and the men who were with him.
And the host of the king of Babylon warred against Jerusalem, and against the cities of Juda, and against Lachis, and against Azeca: for these strong cities were left amongst the cities of Juda.
8 But ten men were found among them, who said to Ishmael: “Do not kill us! For in the field we have storehouses of grain and barley and oil and honey.” And so he ceased, and he did not put them to death with their brothers.
The word that came from the Lord to Jeremias, after king Sedekias had concluded a covenant with the people, to proclaim a release;
9 Now the cistern, into which Ishmael cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had struck down because of Gedaliah, is the same one that king Asa made out of fear of Baasha, the king of Israel. This same cistern Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, filled with those who were slain.
That every one should set at liberty his servant, and every one has handmaid, the Hebrew man and Hebrew woman, that no man of Juda should be a bondman.
10 Then Ishmael led away captive all the remnant of the people who were at Mizpah, the king’s daughters as well as all the people who remained at Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, the leader of the military, had committed to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, seized them and went away, so that he might go over to the sons of Ammon.
Then all the nobles, and all the people who had entered into the covenant, [engaging] to set free every one his man-servant, and every one his maid, turned,
11 But Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the fighters who were with him, heard about all the evil that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had done.
and gave them over to be menservants and maidservants.
12 And taking all the men, they set out to make war against Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah. And they found him at the great waters that are in Gibeon.
And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying,
13 And when all the people who were with Ishmael had seen Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the fighters who were with him, they rejoiced.
Thus says the Lord; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day wherein I took them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,
14 And all the people whom Ishmael had seized turned back to Mizpah. And they returned and went over to Johanan, the son of Kareah.
When six years are accomplished, you shall set free your brother the Hebrew, who shall be sold to you: for he shall serve you six years, and [then] you shall let him go free: but they listened not to me, and inclined not their ear.
15 But Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, fled with eight men from the face of Johanan, and they went over to the sons of Ammon.
And this day they turned to do that which was right in my sight, to proclaim every one the release of his neighbour; and they had concluded a covenant before me, in the house whereon my name is called.
16 Therefore, Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the leaders of the fighters who were with him, took from Mizpah the entire remnant of the common people, whom they had led away from Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. These were strong men of battle, and women, and children, and eunuchs: those whom he had led away from Gibeon.
But you turned and profaned my name, to bring back every one his servant, and every one his handmaid, whom you had sent forth free [and] at their own disposal, to be to you menservants and maidservants.
17 And they went away and settled as sojourners at Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, so that they might continue on and enter into Egypt,
Therefore thus said the Lord; You have not listened to me, to proclaim a release every one to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a release to you, to the sword, and to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will give you up to dispersion [amongst] all the kingdoms of the earth.
18 away from the face of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had struck down Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land of Judah.
And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, who have not kept my covenant, which they made before me, the calf which they prepared to sacrifice with it,
the princes of Juda, and the men in power, and the priests, and the people;
I will even give them to their enemies, and their carcases shall be food for the birds of the sky and for the wild beasts of the earth.
And I will give Sedekias king of Judea, and their princes, into the hands of their enemies, and the host of the king of Babylon [shall come upon] them that run away from them.
Behold, I [will] give command, says the Lord, and will bring them back to this land; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire, and the cities of Juda; and I will make them desolate without inhabitants.
