And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
Ishmael ... went forth ... to meet them, weeping - pretending to weep, as the "fourscore men from Samaria, Shechem, and Shiloh" did (Jeremiah 41:5) for the ruin of the temple.
He said unto them, Come to Gedaliah - as if he was one of Gedaliah's retinue.