10 I myself will live in Mizpah. I will speak for you before the Babylonians who come here. You harvest the wine, the summer fruit and the oil. Put what you harvest in your storage jars. Live in the towns you control.”
11 Some Jews were in Moab, Ammon, Edom and other countries. They heard that the king of Babylon had left a few Jews alive in the land. And they heard the king of Babylon had chosen Gedaliah as governor over them. (Gedaliah was the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan.)
12 When the people of Judah heard this news, they came back to Judah. They came back to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They came from all the countries where they had been scattered. They gathered a large harvest of wine and summer fruit.
13 Johanan son of Kareah came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. All the army officers of Judah still in the open country also came.
14 Johanan and the officers with him said to Gedaliah, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonite people wants you dead? He has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill you.” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.
15 Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah. He said to Gedaliah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know anything about it. We should not let Ishmael kill you. All the Jews gathered around you would be scattered to different countries again. Then the few people of Judah who are left alive would be lost.”
16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Do not kill Ishmael! The things you are saying about Ishmael are not true!”