then they went to Gedaliah [at] Mizpah--Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan, and Jehonathan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, they and their men.

and said to him, "{Are you at all aware} that Baalis, the king of the {Ammonites}, has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, to kill you?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah said to Gedaliah in secrecy at Mizpah, {saying}, "Please let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and {nobody} will know. Why should he kill you, so that all of Judah who are gathered to you will be scattered, and the remnant of Judah will perish?"

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You must not do this thing, for you [are] telling a lie about Ishmael."

{And then} in the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, from the offspring of the kingship, and [one of] the chief officers of the king, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam [at] Mizpah, {along with} ten men. And they ate bread together there at Mizpah.

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah got up, {along with} the ten men who were with him, and they struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him whom the king of Babylon had appointed [in an official position] over the land.

Then Ishmael killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, {along with} the Chaldeans who were found there, {the soldiers}.

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out to meet them from Mizpah, {weeping as he came}. {And then} as [he was] meeting them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam."

{And then}, the moment of their coming to the middle of the city, then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, {along with} the men who [were] with him, slaughtered them [and threw them] to the middle of the pit.

But ten men were found among them, and they said to Ishmael, "You must not kill us, for {we have} hidden treasures in the field, wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey. So he refrained and he did not kill them in the midst of their fellow countrymen.

Now the pit [into] which Ishmael threw all the corpses of the men whom he had killed {along with} Gedaliah [was the same one] that King Asa had made because of Baasha the king of Israel, [who was] against him. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled [it with] the slain ones.

Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who [were] in Mizpah, the daughters of the king and all the people who were left at Mizpah, [over] whom Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And Ishmael took them captive and set out to cross over to the {Ammonites}.

When Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him, heard all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done,

then they took all the men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. And they met him at [the] great pool that [is] in Gibeon.

{And then}, the moment that all the people who [were] with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him, they were glad.

So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and returned and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped with eight men {from} Johanan, and they went to the {Ammonites}.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies who [were] with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, strong men, {soldiers}, and women, and little children, and eunuchs whom he brought back from Gibeon.

because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid {of them}, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed [in an official position] over the land.