Jeremiah 41:4

The Massacre of the Mourners

4 {And then} on the second day of the killing of Gedaliah--and {no one} knew--

Jeremiah 41:4 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 41:4

And it came to pass, the second day after he had slain
Gedaliah
That is, the day following, for it was in the night, as Josephus relates, as before observed, the murder was committed: and no man knew [it];
not any out of the city, or in remote parts; for those that were in the city must be sensible of it; but as yet the report of it had not reached the neighbourhood, and much less distant parts; this is observed on account of the following story, and to show how easily the persons after mentioned were drawn in by Ishmael.

Jeremiah 41:4 In-Context

2 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah got up, {along with} the ten men who were with him, and they struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him whom the king of Babylon had appointed [in an official position] over the land.

3 Then Ishmael killed all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, {along with} the Chaldeans who were found there, {the soldiers}.

4 {And then} on the second day of the killing of Gedaliah--and {no one} knew--

5 then men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men [with] shaven beards and torn garments, [who had] cut themselves with blades, {having} grain offerings and frankincense in their hands to bring [to] the {temple} of Yahweh.

6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out to meet them from Mizpah, {weeping as he came}. {And then} as [he was] meeting them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "And it was"
• [b]. Literally "not a man"