(7) The officers of the troops in the open country, and their men with them, heard that the king of Babylon had put Gedaliah son of Ahikam in charge of the region, and that he had put in his charge the men, women, and children—of the poorest in the land—those who had not been exiled to Babylon. (8) So they with their men came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah; Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah; Seraiah son of Tanhumeth; the sons of Ephai the Netophathite; and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite. (9) Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan reassured them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. (10) I am going to stay in Mizpah to attend upon the Chaldeans who will come to us. But you may gather wine and figs and oil and put them in your own vessels, and settle in the towns you have occupied.” (11) Likewise, all the Judeans who were in Moab, Ammon, and Edom, or who were in other lands, heard that the king of Babylon had let a remnant stay in Judah, and that he had put Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan in charge of them. (12) All these Judeans returned from all the places to which they had scattered. They came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and they gathered large quantities of wine and figs. (13) Johanan son of Kareah, and all the officers of the troops in the open country, came to Gedaliah at Mizpah (14) and said to him, “Do you know that King Baalis of Ammon has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill you?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam would not believe them. (15) Johanan son of Kareah also said secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, “Let me go and strike down Ishmael son of Nethaniah before anyone knows about it; otherwise he will kill you, and all the Judeans who have gathered about you will be dispersed, and the remnant of Judah will perish!” (16) But Gedaliah son of Ahikam answered Johanan son of Kareah, “Do not do such a thing: what you are saying about Ishmael is not true!”
(י) הנה מעשה גדליה בן אחיקם גלוי לעינינו שמפני רוב חסידותו שלא לדון את ישמעאל לכף חובה או שלא לקבל לשון הרע, אמר ליוחנן בן קרח שקר אתה דובר על ישמעאל (ירמיה מ'), ומה גרם? גרם שמת הוא ונפזרו ישראל וכבה גחלתם הנשארה, וכבר ייחס הכתוב הריגת אנשים אשר נהרגו אליו כאילו הרגם הוא, ובמאמרם ז"ל (נדה ס"א): על הפסוק את כל פגרי האנשים אשר הכה ביד גדליה.
(10) Behold the story of Gedalia ben Achikam where it is clear to our eyes that due to his great Chasidut to not judge Yishmael ben Netanya negatively, nor to accept an evil report, he said to Yochanan ben Kareach "you are speaking falsely of Yishmael" (Yirmiyahu 40:16). What resulted from this? He was murdered, the Jews went into exile, and their last ember was extinguished. Scripture attributes the murder of these people as if Gedalyah himself murdered them, as our sages of blessed memory, said (Nida 61a) on the verse: "all the bodies of the men whom he had killed through Gedaliah" (Yirmiyahu 41:9).