2 Kings 25:24
in 2 Kings 25And Gedaliah took an oath before them and their men, assuring them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Gedaliah sware to them and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not because of the servants of the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.
KJV
And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
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This verse in 2 Kings 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
As rebels against the Babylonian king, their lives were forfeit. Gedaliah pledged himself to them by oath, that, if they gave no further cause of complaint, their past offences should be forgiven.
This site's exposition
he made Gedaliah the son
on 2 Kings 25:22-24
Gedaliah's father Ahikam had kept Jeremiah from being put to death at Jer 26:24, and his grandfather Shaphan was the scribe who read the newly found book of the law before Josiah at 22:8-10, three generations serving the same prophetic word across the kingdom's last decades. Gedaliah's oath to the captains, fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees, dwell in the land, matches Jeremiah's own counsel at Jer 27 and 29 to submit and seek the city's peace rather than resist. A family with a record of protecting God's word governs the ruin it could not prevent.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
What a fatal breach was made upon them, soon afterwards, by the death of Gedaliah, within two months after he entered upon his government. The utter extirpation of the Jews, for the present, was determined, and therefore it was in vain for them to think of taking root again: the whole land must be plucked up, Jer. xlv.
Swear - Assured them by his promise and oath, that they should be kept from the evils which they feared. This he might safely swear, because he had not only the king of Babylon's promise but also God's promise deliver'd by Jeremiah. And it might seem, a fair prospect was opening again.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Gedaliah was Jeremiah's friend (Jer 26:24), and having, by the prophet's counsel, probably fled from the city as abandoned of God, he surrendered himself to the conqueror (Jer 38:2, 17), and being promoted to the government of Judea, fixed his provincial court at Mizpeh. He was well qualified to surmount the difficulties of ruling at such a crisis.
Gedaliah sware to them - He pledged himself in the most solemn manner to encourage and protect them.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשָּׁבַ֨ע | vaiyishava' | and he swore an oath | H7650 → | |
| לָהֶ֤ם | lahem | to them | ||
| גְּדַלְיָ֙הוּ֙ | gedalyahu | Gedaliah | H1436 → | 32 times |
| וּלְאַנְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם | uleansheihem | and to men their | H582 → | 566 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to them | ||
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּֽירְא֖וּ | tireu | you be afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מֵעַבְדֵ֣י | meavdei | from [the] servants of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| הַכַּשְׂדִּ֑ים | hakasdim | the Chaldeans | H3778 → | 80 times |
| שְׁב֣וּ | shevu | dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָאָ֗רֶץ | vaaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְעִבְד֛וּ | veivdu | and serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶ֖ל | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְיִטַ֥ב | veyitav | so it may go well | H3190 → | 117 times |
| לָכֶֽם׃ ס | lakhem | for you |
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֨עand he swore an oath
vaiyishava'H7650 →
לָהֶ֤םto them
lahem
גְּדַלְיָ֙הוּ֙Gedaliah
gedalyahuH1436 →32 times
וּלְאַנְשֵׁיהֶ֔םand to men their
uleansheihemH582 →566 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לָהֶ֔םto them
lahem
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּֽירְא֖וּyou be afraid
tireuH3372 →315 times
מֵעַבְדֵ֣יfrom [the] servants of
meavdeiH5650 →799 times
הַכַּשְׂדִּ֑יםthe Chaldeans
hakasdimH3778 →80 times
שְׁב֣וּdwell
shevuH3427 →1079 times
בָאָ֗רֶץin the land
vaaretzH776 →2504 times
וְעִבְד֛וּand serve
veivduH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶ֖לBabylon
bavelH894 →262 times
וְיִטַ֥בso it may go well
veyitavH3190 →117 times
לָכֶֽם׃ סfor you
lakhem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 14:11“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 14:45
But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the…
- Matthew 10:30
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
- Numbers 35:19
The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.
- 1 Samuel 14:45
Through
Jeremiah 43:6the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 39:10
But Nebuzaradan left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people who had no property, and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
- Jeremiah 40:7
When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in…
- Jeremiah 39:10
Through
2 Samuel 19:23So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore an oath to him.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:46
Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.
- 1 Kings 2:8–9
Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he…
- 1 Kings 2:37
On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
- 1 Kings 2:46
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.