7Now when all the army officers who were in the field, with their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, governor in the land, and had committed to him the men, women, and children of the poor of the land, those that were not carried away captive to Babylon, 8Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah - Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan, sons of Kareah, and Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth, and sons of Ephai, the Netophathite, and Jezaniah, son of a Maacathite, they and their men. 9And Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, grandson of Shaphan, took an oath to reassure them and to their men: “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans; settle in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 10I, myself, will stay at Mizpah to represent you to the Chaldeans (Babylonians), who will come to us; but you, gather wine, and harvest summer fruits and oil, and put them in your storage jars, and dwell in your cities that you have taken over.” 11Likewise, when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set Gedaliah over them as governor, 12Many Jews returned from all places where they had been driven, and came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruits.

13Then Johanan, son of Kareah, and the commanders of all the forces that were in the field, came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, 14And said to him, “Do you know that Baalis, the king of the Ammonites, has sent Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, to assassinate you?” But Gedaliah did not believe them. 15Then Johanan, spoke privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, and said, “Let me go and kill Ishmael, and no man will know it. Why should he kill you and cause all the Jews who have gathered to you to be scattered, and the remnant of Jews in Judah to perish?” 16But Gedaliah said to Johanan, son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing; for what you say about Ishmael is not true.”