Jeremiah 41:7
in Jeremiah 41And when they came into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
KJV
And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
⋯
This verse in Jeremiah 41
Commentary
5 notes on this verseSlew them - He kept the murder of Gedaliah secret, and no doubt had a band of his assassins lodged in Mizpah; and he decoyed these fourscore men thither that he might have strength to slay them. He kept ten alive because they told him they had treasures hidden in a field, which they would show him. Whether he kept his word with them is not recorded. He could do nothing good or great; and it is likely that, when he had possessed himself of those treasures, he served them as he had served their companions.
This site's exposition
the second day after he had slain Gedaliah
on Jeremiah 41:4-7
The day after the murder, before news has spread, eighty pilgrims arrive from the northern towns of Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, mourning rites visible on their bodies, beards shaven and clothes rent and flesh cut, bringing offerings toward the ruined temple. Ishmael meets them weeping, a performance the commentators read as calculated grief, and lures them into the city where he slaughters most of them and casts the bodies into a pit. Gill notes that pilgrims from the north still traveling toward Jerusalem's site, temple burned or not, testify that devotion to the place survived even the fall of the old northern kingdom.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and no doubt took the offerings they had and converted them to his own use; for he that would not stick at such a murder would not stick at sacrilege. Notice is taken of his disposing of the dead bodies of these and the rest that he had slain; he tumbled them all into a great pit (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And it was so, when they came into the midst of the city,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
and cast them into . . . pit--He had not killed them in the pit (compare Jer 41:9); these words are therefore rightly supplied in English Version. the pit--the pit or cistern made by Asa to guard against a want of water when Baasha was about to besiege the city (Jer 41:9;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֕י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּבוֹאָ֖ם | kevoam | when came they | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תּ֣וֹךְ | tokh | [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הָעִ֑יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וַיִּשְׁחָטֵ֞ם | vaiyishchatem | and he slaughtered them | H7819 → | 81 times |
| יִשְׁמָעֵ֤אל | yishmael | Ishmael | H3458 → | 48 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נְתַנְיָה֙ | netanyah | Nethaniah | H5418 → | 20 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תּ֣וֹךְ | tokh | [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| הַבּ֔וֹר | habor | the cistern | H953 → | 66 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְהָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים | vehaanashim | and the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אִתּֽוֹ׃ | ʾito | [were] with him | H854 → | 929 times |
וַיְהִ֕יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כְּבוֹאָ֖םwhen came they
kevoamH935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תּ֣וֹךְ[the] middle of
tokhH8432 →418 times
הָעִ֑ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וַיִּשְׁחָטֵ֞םand he slaughtered them
vaiyishchatemH7819 →81 times
יִשְׁמָעֵ֤אלIshmael
yishmaelH3458 →48 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
נְתַנְיָה֙Nethaniah
netanyahH5418 →20 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תּ֣וֹךְ[the] middle of
tokhH8432 →418 times
הַבּ֔וֹרthe cistern
haborH953 →66 times
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וְהָאֲנָשִׁ֥יםand the men
vehaanashimH582 →566 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אִתּֽוֹ׃[were] with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
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
Psalms 55:23But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.
- Psalms 5:6
You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
- Job 15:32
It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
- Proverbs 10:27
Through
Isaiah 59:7Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
it leads to
- Proverbs 6:17
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
- Romans 3:15–17
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
- Proverbs 1:16
For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
- Mark 7:21–22
For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
- Proverbs 6:17
Through
Ezekiel 22:27Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:13
Now look, I strike My hands together against your unjust gain and against the blood you have shed in your midst.
- Ezekiel 22:13
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; 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.