Jeremiah 41

Jeremiah 41:1

2. Governor Gedaliah Assassinated (Chap. 41)41:1-9 Ishmael and . . . ten of his men struck Gedaliah and his followers, perhaps because they resented his negotiating with the Babylonians, or perhaps because they wanted to rule, since Ishmael was of the royal family. Ishmael, pretending sympathy, also killed seventy mourners who came from Shechem to worship at the site of the destroyed temple, then cast their bodies into a pit. He spared ten who had hoarded food supplies and who bartered them for their lives. 41:10-18 Others, including the king’s daughters, who were taken captive were rescued by Johanan and his fighting men, and fled to Bethlehem, planning to escape from there to Egypt because they feared reprisal by the Chaldeans. Ishmael and eight of his men . . . escaped to Ammon.