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Jeremiah 40:15

in Jeremiah 40

Then Johanan son of Kareah spoke privately to Gedaliah at Mizpah. “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah,” he said. “No one will know it. Why should he take your life and scatter all the people of Judah who have gathered to you, so that the remnant of Judah would perish?”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he take thy life, that all the Jews that are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant of Judah perish?

KJV

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?

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This verse in Jeremiah 40

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Wherefore should he slay thee? Herein he showed more courage and zeal than sense of justice; for, if it be lawful to kill for prevention, who then can be safe, since malice always suspects the worst? That Gedaliah, being a man of sincerity himself, would by no means give credit to the information given him of Ishmael's treachery.

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

Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah

Johanan son of Kareah offers to kill Ishmael in secret before Ishmael can take Gedaliah's life. Matthew Henry says the offer showed more zeal than justice, for no one is safe if killing to prevent a crime is lawful. Johanan's fear for the remnant comes true in chapter 41.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly,....

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 words behind it

30 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.

  • וְיוֹחָנָ֣ןand Johanan

    veyochananH3110 →22 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • קָרֵ֡חַKareah

    kareachH7143 →14 times

  • אָמַ֣רhe said

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • גְּדַלְיָהוּ֩Gedaliah

    gedalyahuH1436 →32 times

  • בַסֵּ֨תֶרin <the> secrecy

    vaseterH5643 →36 times

  • בַּמִּצְפָּ֜הat <the> Mizpah

    bamitzpahH4709 →40 times

  • לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • אֵ֤לְכָהlet me go

    ʾelekhahH1980 →1546 times

  • נָּא֙please

    na'H4994 →404 times

  • וְאַכֶּה֙and let me strike down

    veakehH5221 →499 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • יִשְׁמָעֵ֣אלIshmael

    yishmaelH3458 →48 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • נְתַנְיָ֔הNethaniah

    netanyahH5418 →20 times

  • וְאִ֖ישׁand anyone

    veishH376 →1663 times

  • לֹ֣אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • יֵדָ֑עhe will know

    yeda'H3045 →945 times

  • לָ֧מָּה<to> why?

    lamahH4100 →752 times

  • יַכֶּ֣כָּהwill he strike you

    yakekahH5221 →499 times

  • נֶּ֗פֶשׁlife

    nefeshH5315 →754 times

  • וְנָפֹ֙צוּ֙and will they be scattered

    venafotzuH6327 →67 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • יְהוּדָ֔הJews

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • הַנִּקְבָּצִ֣יםwho have gathered

    hanikbatzimH6908 →127 times

  • אֵלֶ֔יךָto you

    ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times

  • וְאָבְדָ֖הand will it perish

    veavedahH6 →184 times

  • שְׁאֵרִ֥ית[the] remnant of

    sheeritH7611 →66 times

  • יְהוּדָֽה׃Judah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

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

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Samuel 21:17But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel may not be extinguished.”3 works1 Samuel 26:8Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike him twice!”3 works2 Kings 25:25In 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 Judeans and Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah.3 works2 Samuel 18:3But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will pay no attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better for now if you support us from the city.”2 worksJohn 11:50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”2 worksJeremiah 12:3–4But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 24:4So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up secretly and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.2 worksJeremiah 42:2Jeremiah the prophet and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the LORD your God on behalf of this entire remnant. For few of us remain of the many, as you can see with your own eyes.2 worksEzekiel 33:24–29“Son of man, those living in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as a possession.’2 worksJob 31:31if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—2 worksIsaiah 24:1Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—2 works

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

    2 Samuel 21:17

    But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 11:36

      I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.

    • 2 Samuel 18:3

      But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will pay no attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not care; but you…

    • 1 Kings 15:4

      Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong.

    • Psalms 132:17

      There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.

  • Through

    John 11:50

    You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

    it leads to

    • John 18:14

      Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be better if one man died for the people.

    • Luke 24:46

      And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

  • Through

    2 Samuel 18:3

    But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will pay no attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not care; but you…

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 21:17

      But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the…

  • Through

    1 Samuel 26:8

    Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 24:4

      So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you…

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; 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 →