The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 In the seventh month Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu, the son of Elishama, of royal blood and one of the chief officials of the king, came with ten men to G'dalyahu in Mitzpah. While eating a meal together there in Mitzpah,
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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.
2 Yishma'el and the ten men with him rose and attacked G'dalyahu the son of Achikam, the son of Shafan, struck him with their swords, and assassinated the man whom the king of Bavel had appointed governor of the land.
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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.
3 Yishma'el also murdered all the Judeans who were with G'dalyahu at Mitzpah, as well as the Kasdim soldiers they found there.
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And Ishmael put to death all the Jews who were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldaean men of war.
4 The next day, before his assassination of G'dalyahu had become known,
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Now on the second day after he had put Gedaliah to death, when no one had knowledge of it,
5 eighty men from Sh'khem, Shiloh and Shomron came with beards shaved off, clothes torn and gashes on their bodies; they had grain offerings and frankincense with them to present in the house of ADONAI.
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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.
6 Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu went out from Mitzpah to meet them, weeping all along the way; on meeting them, he said to them, "Come to G'dalyahu the son of Achikam."
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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.
7 But once they were inside the city, Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into the cistern.
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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.
8 However, ten of them said to Yishma'el, "Don't kill us, for we have stores of wheat, barley, olive oil and honey hidden in the field." So he relented, and did not kill them along with their comrades.
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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.
9 The cistern in which Yishma'el threw the corpses of the men he had murdered with G'dalyahu was the one Asa the king had made in fear of Ba'asha king of Isra'el; it was this cistern that Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu filled with the slaughtered men.
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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.
10 Then Yishma'el carried off captive the rest of the people in Mitzpah - the king's daughters and all the people left in Mitzpah, whom N'vuzar'adan the commander of the guard had committed to the care of G'dalyahu the son of Achikam. Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu carried them off captive and left to cross over to the people of 'Amon.
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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.
11 When Yochanan the son of Kareach and all the military commanders with him heard of all the crimes committed by Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu,
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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,
12 they took all the men and went to attack Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu. They found him by the big pool in Giv'on.
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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.
13 When all Yishma'el's captives saw Yochanan the son of Kareach and all the military commanders with him, they were overjoyed.
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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.
14 So all the people Yishma'el had carried off captive from Mitzpah turned and joined Yochanan the son of Kareach.
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And all the people whom Ishmael had taken away prisoners from Mizpah, turning round, came back and went to Johanan, the son of Kareah.
15 But Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu escaped from Yochanan with eight men and went on to the people of 'Amon.
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But Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, got away from Johanan, with eight men, and went to the children of Ammon.
16 Yochanan the son of Kareach and the military commanders with him then took all the rest of the people he had freed from Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu, those Yishma'el had taken from Mitzpah after assassinating G'dalyahu the son of Achikam - the heroes, the soldiers, the women, the children and the officers he had brought back from Giv'on -
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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:
17 and they left there to stay at Kimham's Lodge, near Beit-Lechem, intending to go on to Egypt
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And they went and were living in the resting-place of Chimham, which is near Beth-lehem on the way into Egypt,
18 and thus escape the Kasdim. They were afraid of them, because Yishma'el the son of N'tanyahu had murdered G'dalyahu the son of Achikam, whom the king of Bavel had appointed governor of the land.
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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.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.