EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Jeremiah 40:15
15So while Johanan was in Mizpah, he went to speak to Gedaliah alone. He said, ‘Let me go and kill Nethaniah's son Ishmael. Nobody will know who did it. If I do not kill him, he will surely kill you. Then the people of Judah who are here with you will run away. The few people who still remain in Judah will all disappear.’
Jeremiah 40:15 in other versions
- King James Version (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?
- New International Version (NIV)Then Johanan son of Kareah said privately to Gedaliah in Mizpah, “Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah to perish?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, "Please let me go and strike down Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he take your life, so that all the Judeans who are gathered about you would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah would perish?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, please, and I will kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no one will know it. Why should he murder you, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?”
Context of Jeremiah 40:15
13Kareah's son Johanan came to Mizpah to see Gedaliah. He came with the other army officers who had been hiding in the country. 14They said to Gedaliah, ‘You should know that King Baalis of Ammon has sent Nethaniah's son Ishmael to kill you.’ But Gedaliah did not believe them. So while Johanan was in Mizpah, he went to speak to Gedaliah alone. He said, ‘Let me go and kill Nethaniah's son Ishmael. Nobody will know who did it. If I do not kill him, he will surely kill you. Then the people of Judah who are here with you will run away. The few people who still remain in Judah will all disappear.’ 16But Ahikam's son Gedaliah, said to Kareah's son Johanan, ‘Do not do that! I do not believe the things that you tell me about Ishmael.’
Read all of Jeremiah 40Jeremiah 40:15 word by word
וְיוֹחָנָ֣ן בֶּן־קָרֵ֡חַ אָמַ֣ר אֶל־גְּדַלְיָהוּ֩ בַסֵּ֨תֶר בַּמִּצְפָּ֜ה לֵאמֹ֗ר אֵ֤לְכָה נָּא֙ וְאַכֶּה֙ אֶת־יִשְׁמָעֵ֣אל בֶּן־נְתַנְיָ֔ה וְאִ֖ישׁ לֹ֣א יֵדָ֑ע לָ֧מָּה יַכֶּ֣כָּה נֶּ֗פֶשׁ וְנָפֹ֙צוּ֙ כָּל־יְהוּדָ֔ה הַנִּקְבָּצִ֣ים אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְאָבְדָ֖ה שְׁאֵרִ֥ית יְהוּדָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then Johananיוֹחָנָןyôchânân · JohananH3110
- the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of Kareahקָרֵחַqârêach · KareahH7143
- spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- to Gedaliahגְּדַלְיָ֫הוּgedalyâh gedalyâhû · GedaliahH1436
- in Mizpahמִצְפָּהmitspâh · MizpahH4709
- secretlyסֵ֫תֶרsêther sithrâh · secrecyH5643
- Let me goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- I pray thee, and I will slayנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
- Ishmaelיִשְׁמָעֵאלyishmâ‛ê'l · IshmaelH3458
- of Nethaniahנְתַנְיָ֫הוּnethanyâh nethanyâhû · NethaniahH5418
- and no manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- shall knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- wherefore should he slayנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
- thee, that all the Jewsיְהוּדִיyehûdîy · JewH3064
- which are gatheredקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- unto thee should be scatteredפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327
- and the remnantשְׁאֵרִיתshe'êrîyth · remnantH7611
- in Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
- perishאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
Cross-references for Jeremiah 40:15
- 1 Samuel 24:4David's men said to him, ‘This is the day that the Lord told you about! The Lord said to you, “I will give your enemy to you. Then you can decide what is the right thing to do to him.” ’ So David stood up very quietly. He went and he cut off a small piece of cloth from Saul's coat. Saul did not know what had happened.
- 1 Samuel 26:8Abishai said to David, ‘Tonight God has given your enemy into your power. I will push Saul's spear through his body and fix him to the ground. I will only have to do it once to kill him. I will not need to do it again.’
- Job 31:31None of the people who work in my house have ever said, “Job has not welcomed strangers into his house. He has not shared his food with them.”
- Jeremiah 12:3But you know everything about me, Lord. You watch me carefully to test me. You know what I am thinking. You should kill those wicked men, as they deserve! Take them away like sheep, to kill them when the time is right.
- 2 Samuel 18:3But the men replied, ‘No, you must not go with us. If we have to run away quickly, it will not matter to Absalom's men. Even if they kill half of our soldiers, it will not seem important to them. What they really want is to kill you. You are worth 10,000 of us. You must stay here in the city. Then you can send help to us if we need it.’
- 2 Samuel 21:17But Zeruiah's son Abishai saved David. Abishai knocked down the Philistine and he killed him. So David's men said very strongly, ‘Our king, you must never again come out with us to fight a battle. You are like Israel's light. We do not want your life to finish.’
- Ezekiel 33:24‘Son of man, there are people who continue to live in the places in Israel that have become heaps of stones. Those Israelites are saying, “Abraham was only one man, but God gave him the whole land of Israel. We are many people. So we can be sure that the land now belongs to us.”
- John 11:50It is better that one man should die on behalf of our people. That is better than if all Israel's people should die.’
Commentaries on Jeremiah 40:15
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-16Verses 7-16 Jeremiah had never in his prophecies spoken of any good days for the Jews, to come immediately after the captivity; yet Providence seemed to encourage such an expectation. But how soon is this hopeful prospect blighted! When God begins a judgment, he will complete it. While pride, ambition, or revenge, bears rule in the heart, men will form new projects, and be restless in mischief, which commonly ends in their own ruin. Who would have…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-161. word that came--the heading of a new part of the book (the forty-first through forty-fourth chapters), namely, the prophecies to the Jews in Judea and Egypt after the taking of the city, blended with history. The prophecy does not begin till Jr 42:7, and the previous history is introductory to it. bound in chains--Though released from the court of the prison (see on Jr 39:14), in the confusion at the burning of the city he seems to have been led away…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 40:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 40
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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