Jeremiah 41

Gedaliah Is Murdered

1 ¹In the seventh month ²Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to ³Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. While they ⁴were eating bread together there in Mizpah,

2 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him arose and ⁵struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and ⁶put to death the one ⁷whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

3 Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.

4 Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it,

5 that eighty men ⁸came from ⁹Shechem, from ¹⁰Shiloh, and from ¹¹Samaria with ¹²their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and their bodies ¹³gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the ¹⁴house of the LORD.

6 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, ¹⁵weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!"

7 Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him ¹⁶slaughtered them and cast them into the cistern.

8 But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, "Do not put us to death; for we have ¹⁷stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the field." So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions.

9 Now as for the cistern where * Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he had struck down because of Gedaliah, it was the ¹⁸one that King Asa had made on ¹⁹account * of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.

10 Then Ishmael took captive all the ²⁰remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the ²¹king's daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put under the charge of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; thus Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of ²²Ammon.

Johanan Rescues the People

11 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the ²³commanders of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done.

12 So they took all the men and went to ²⁴fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the ²⁵great pool that is in Gibeon.

13 Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were glad.

14 So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah ²⁶escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the sons of Ammon.

16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah ²⁷all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were soldiers *, the women, the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.

17 And they went and stayed in ²⁸Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to ²⁹proceed * into Egypt

18 because * of the Chaldeans; for they were ³⁰afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom ³¹the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.

Jeremiah 41 Commentary

Chapter 41

Ishmael murders Gedaliah. (1-10) Johanan recovers the captives, and purposes to retire to Egypt. (11-18)

Verses 1-10 Those who hate the worshippers of God, often put on the appearance of piety, that they may the easier hurt them. As death often meets men where they least expect it, we should continually search whether we are in such a state and frame of mind, as we would wish to be found in when called to appear before our Judge. Sometimes the ransom of a man's life is his riches. But those who think to bribe death, saying, Slay us not, for we have treasures in the field, will find themselves wretchedly deceived. This melancholy history warns us, never to be secure in this world. We never can be sure of peace on this side heaven.

Verses 11-18 The success of villany must be short, and none can prosper who harden their hearts against God. And those justly lose comfort in real fears, who excuse themselves in sin by pretended fears. The removal of a prudent and peaceable ruler, and the succession of another who is rash and ambitious, affects the welfare of many. Only those are happy and steady who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Kings 25:25
• 2. Jeremiah 40:8, 14
• 3. Jeremiah 39:14; Jeremiah 40:5, 6
• 4. Psalms 41:9; Jeremiah 40:13, 14
• 5. 2 Samuel 3:27; 2 Samuel 20:9, 10; 2 Kings 25:25; Psalms 41:9; Psalms 109:5; John 13:18
• 6. 2 Kings 25:25
• 7. Jeremiah 40:5
• 8. 2 Kings 10:13, 14
• 9. Genesis 33:18; Genesis 37:12; Judges 9:1; 1 Kings 12:1, 25
• 10. Joshua 18:1; Judges 18:31; 1 Samuel 3:21; Psalms 78:60
• 11. 1 Kings 16:24, 29
• 12. Leviticus 19:27; Deuteronomy 14:1
• 13. Deuteronomy 14:1; Jeremiah 16:6
• 14. 1 Samuel 1:7; 2 Kings 25:9
• 15. 2 Samuel 3:16; Jeremiah 50:4
• 16. Psalms 55:23; Isaiah 59:7; Ezekiel 22:27; Ezekiel 33:24, 26
• 17. Isaiah 45:3
• 18. 1 Kings 15:17-22; 2 Chronicles 16:1-6
• 19. Judges 6:2; 1 Samuel 13:6; 2 Samuel 17:9; Hebrews 11:38
• 20. Jeremiah 40:11, 12
• 21. Jeremiah 43:6
• 22. Nehemiah 2:10, 19; Nehemiah 4:7; Jeremiah 40:14
• 23. Jer 40:7, 8, 13-16
• 24. Genesis 14:14-16; 1 Sam 30:1-8, 18, 20
• 25. 2 Samuel 2:13
• 26. 1 Samuel 30:17; 1 Kings 20:20; Job 21:30; Proverbs 28:17
• 27. Jeremiah 42:8; Jeremiah 43:4-7
• 28. 2 Sam 19:37, 38, 40
• 29. Jeremiah 42:14
• 30. Isaiah 51:12, 13; Isaiah 57:11; Jeremiah 42:11, 16; Jeremiah 43:2, 3; Luke 12:4, 5
• 31. Jeremiah 40:5

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "seed"
• [b]. Or "second"
• [c]. Lit "having cut themselves"
• [d]. Or "by the side of"
• [e]. Lit "waters"
• [f]. Lit "brought back"
• [g]. Lit "men of war"
• [h]. Lit "infants"
• [i]. Or "the lodging place of Chimham"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 41

This chapter relates the event of the conspiracy against Gedaliah Johanan and the princes had informed him of, to which he gave no credit; but it proved true. An account is given of the murder of Gedaliah, and of the Jews and Chaldeans with him; and of the perpetrators of it, Jer 41:1-3; and of the chief of them, Ishmael's treacherous dealing with fourscore men that came from several parts to the house of God to offer sacrifice, who all perished by his hands, excepting ten, Jer 41:4-9; and of the rest of the people at Mizpah being carried away, in order to be captives among the Ammonites, Jer 41:10; and of Johanan, and the rest of the captives, hearing of all this, and coming out to fight with Ishmael; upon which the people deserted him, and he fled to the Ammonites, Jer 41:11-15; and of Johanan and the people settling in the way to Egypt, to flee there on occasion, should the Chaldeans fall on them for what was done to the governor, which they feared, Jer 41:16-18.