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Jeremiah 40:16

in Jeremiah 40

But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, “Do not do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is a lie.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing; for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

KJV

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

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This verse in Jeremiah 40

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Thou shalt not do this thing - He cannot be so base. Thou speakest falsely of Ishmael - He thought it quite possible that the man who was capable of becoming an assassin was capable of telling a lie; and therefore he would not credit what he said. Had he been a little more distrustful, he would have saved his own life. The next chapter shows that Johanan’s information was too true. So noble Gedaliah lost his life by not believing that evil of others of which he himself was incapable.

This site's exposition

came to Gedaliah at Mizpah

on Jeremiah 40:13-16

Johanan and the commanders warn Gedaliah that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael to kill him. Johanan offers to kill Ishmael secretly, asking why the remnant should perish, but Gedaliah answers, “What you are saying about Ishmael is a lie.” The next chapter shows the warning was true.

This site's exposition

What you are saying about Ishmael is a lie

Gedaliah forbids the killing. Adam Clarke says Gedaliah could not believe of Ishmael an evil he was incapable of himself, and lost his life for it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown call it a mystery of providence that God lets the righteous walk into such a trap (Isaiah 57:1).

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

6 Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land. The title of this part of the book, which begins the chapter, seems misapplied ( The word which came to Jeremiah ), for here is nothing of prophecy in this chapter, but it is to be referred to ch. xlii.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

thou speakest falsely--a mystery of providence that God should permit the righteous, in spite of warning, thus to rush into the trap laid for them! Isa 57:1 suggests a solution.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • גְּדַלְיָ֤הוּGedaliah

    gedalyahuH1436 →32 times

  • בֶן־[the] son of

    ven-H1121 →4930 times

  • אֲחִיקָם֙Ahikam

    ʾachikamH296 →20 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • יוֹחָנָ֣ןJohanan

    yochananH3110 →22 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • קָרֵ֔חַKareah

    kareachH7143 →14 times

  • אַֽל־may not

    ʾal-H408 →724 times

  • תַּעֲשֵׂ֖הyou do

    taasH6213 →2628 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַדָּבָ֣רthe thing

    hadavarH1697 →1440 times

  • הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this

    hazehH2088 →1180 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • שֶׁ֛קֶרfalsehood

    shekerH8267 →113 times

  • אַתָּ֥הyou

    ʾatahH859 →1094 times

  • דֹבֵ֖ר[are] speaking

    doverH1696 →1141 times

  • אֶל־concerning

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • יִשְׁמָעֵֽאל׃ סIshmael

    yishmaelH3458 →48 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Romans 3:8

    Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!

    it leads to

    • Romans 6:1

      What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?

    • Romans 6:15

      What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!

    • Romans 5:20

      The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,

    • Romans 7:7

      What then shall we say? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed, I would not have been mindful of sin if not for the law. For I would not have been aware of coveting…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 41:2

    Then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the…

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 25:25

      In the seventh month, however, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down and killed Gedaliah, along with the…

    • Jeremiah 40:5

      But before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him…

    • 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…

    • 2 Samuel 3:27

      When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the…

Where this verse is studied

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 40 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Jeremiah 40 →