²² Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah^(A) son of Ahikam,^(B) the son of Shaphan, to be over the people he had left behind in Judah. ²³ When all the army officers and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maakathite, and their men. ²⁴ Gedaliah took an oath to reassure them and their men. “Do not be afraid of the Babylonian officials,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.”

²⁵ In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood, came with ten men and assassinated^(C) Gedaliah and also the men of Judah and the Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.^{(D) 26} At this, all the people from the least to the greatest, together with the army officers, fled to Egypt^(E) for fear of the Babylonians.

²⁸ This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile:^(A)