Bible Strands
Jeremiah 40:16
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Gedaliah son of Ahikam responds to Johanan son of Kareah immediately after Johanan privately proposes assassinating Ishmael son of Nethaniah at Mizpah.
The words — The supplied lexicon marks וַיֹּאמֶר (va.yomer) = “and he said” as the narrative hinge, while the text itself supplies no further lexical breakdown for the rebuke or the accusation of falsehood.
The thread — This confrontation precedes Jeremiah 41:2, where Johanan’s feared outcome materializes when Ishmael strikes down Gedaliah, and parallels the warning against utilitarian evil in Romans 3:8.
Why it lands — The text records Gedaliah’s immediate rejection of political assassination, requiring the reader to weigh prophetic patience against pragmatic security without endorsing either approach.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 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 king of Babylon had appointed to govern the land.
- Matthew 10:16 Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- 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!