Bible Strands
2 Kings 25:24
And 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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Gedaliah addresses fleeing military commanders and their troops at Mizpah immediately after they learn he was appointed governor by the Babylonian king. He speaks to counter their panic over potential Chaldean retaliation following Jerusalem's fall.
The words — The Hebrew וַיִּשָּׁבַע (va.yi.sha.Va') means "and he swore an oath," marking a formal binding statement. The imperative אַל־תִּירְאוּ (al.ti.re.'U) translates literally as "do not be afraid," directly ordering the cessation of fear.
The thread — Gedaliah repeats this exact oath and reassurance in Jeremiah 40:9 to the same group of commanders. Comparable royal guarantees of safety appear in 2 Samuel 19:23 and 2 Samuel 14:11.
Why it lands — The text commands a pragmatic posture toward foreign occupation: remain in the land and submit to Babylonian rule to secure survival. It requires readers to replace emotional terror with calculated compliance to established authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 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 lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
- 2 Samuel 19:23 So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore an oath to him.
- Jeremiah 40:9 Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you.
- Jeremiah 43:6 the 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 the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah.
- Ezekiel 33:24 “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.’