⁴ Then the officials^(A) said to the king, “This man should be put to death.^(B) He is discouraging^(C) the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”

¹⁸ to escape the Babylonians.^[a] They were afraid^(A) of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah^(B) son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.