Geremia 40:4

4 Ora ecco, io ti sciolgo oggi dalle catene che hai alle mani; se ti piace di venire con me a Babilonia, vieni; e io avrò cura di te; ma se non t’aggrada di venir con me a Babilonia, rimantene; ecco, tutto il paese ti sta dinanzi; va’ dove ti piacerà e ti converrà d’andare".

Geremia 40:4 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 40:4

And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which
[were] upon thine hands
Or rather are; for, when he said these words, it is highly probable they were on him, though now ordered to be taken off; these were not what were put upon him by the Jews, when in the court of the prison; for rather his legs, than his hands, would have had fetters on them there; but what were put upon him by the Chaldeans, when he fell into their hands; though inadvertently done by the inferior officers, and without the knowledge of the princes, or of this captain, who loosed them; with these he came manacled to Ramah, with the rest of the captives, but now were loosed in the sight of them: if it seem good unto thee to come with me unto Babylon, come, and one
will look well unto thee;
or, "I will set mine eyes upon thee" ^F18; as the king of Babylon had ordered him to do, ( Jeremiah 39:12 ) ; would favour him, protect him, provide for him, and use him in the most kind and generous manner: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me to Babylon, forbear;
if it was not agreeable to him to leave his native country, and to go into Babylon, he would not urge it, but leave him to his liberty; yea, would advise him to continue where he was, and not take one step out of it: behold, all the land [is] before thee;
the land of Judea, which was at the disposal of the king of Babylon; and Jeremiah has a grant from him, by his officer, to settle where he pleased: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go;
he left him to take his own way, and do as he thought fit; and this agrees with his master's orders to him, ( Jeremiah 39:12 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 (Kyle ynye ta Myvaw) "ponam oculos meos super te", Schmidt; "et ponam oculum meum super te", Pagninus, Montanus.

Geremia 40:4 In-Context

2 Il capo delle guardie prese dunque Geremia, e gli disse: "L’Eterno, il tuo Dio, aveva pronunziato questo male contro questo luogo;

3 e l’Eterno l’ha fatto venire e ha fatto come aveva detto, perché voi avete peccato contro l’Eterno, e non avete dato ascolto alla sua voce; perciò questo v’è avvenuto.

4 Ora ecco, io ti sciolgo oggi dalle catene che hai alle mani; se ti piace di venire con me a Babilonia, vieni; e io avrò cura di te; ma se non t’aggrada di venir con me a Babilonia, rimantene; ecco, tutto il paese ti sta dinanzi; va’ dove ti piacerà e ti converrà d’andare".

5 E come Geremia non si decideva a tornare con lui, l’altro aggiunse: "Torna da Ghedalia, figliuolo di Ahikam, figliuolo di Shafan, che il re di Babilonia ha stabilito sulle città di Giuda, e dimora con lui in mezzo al popolo; ovvero va’ dovunque ti piacerà". E il capo delle guardie gli diede delle provviste e un regalo, e l’accomiatò.

6 E Geremia andò da Ghedalia, figliuolo di Ahikam, a Mitspa, e dimorò con lui in mezzo al popolo che era rimasto nel paese.