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.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing; for you speak falsely of Ishmael.”
- KJV 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.
- NKJV But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael.”
- NASB But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, “Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael.”
- NLT But Gedaliah said to Johanan, “I forbid you to do any such thing, for you are lying about Ishmael.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Gedaliah forbids Johanan to act, insisting the accusation against Ishmael is false. His misplaced trust seals the coming disaster.
Overview
Gedaliah dismisses the warning as slander and refuses to sanction Ishmael's death. His good-faith generosity, while admirable in motive, ignores credible danger and leaves the remnant exposed. The verse closes the chapter on a note of dramatic irony, for the betrayal he denies is about to fall upon him and his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Matt 10:16–17Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- Rom 3:8Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!
- Jer 41:2Then 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.
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 40:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.