Jeremiah 40:15

Jer 40:15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know [it]: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?

Ver. 15. Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael.] He offereth his service for the slaying of Ishmael, and it had been happy he had done it, sed immodico obsequio sibi fidem derogat, his forwardness rendereth him suspected. Gedaliah seemeth to have been of our Queen Elizabeth’s temper, who was heard to profess, that she could believe nothing of her people that parents would not believe of their children. {a}

{a} Camden.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. the remnant of Judah perish] Johanan no doubt hoped to influence a high-minded man like Gedaliah by this argument that on his life depended the welfare of those who remained yet in the country.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly,.... Partly that he might, as he thought, more easily prevail upon him, and persuade him to believe the information given; and partly for the sake of the proposal he had to make to him, which it was not proper should be publicly made:

saying, let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it; that he had slain him, or that Gedaliah had given him leave to do it:

wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews that are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? suggesting, that it was not barely his losing his own life, which is, and ought to be, precious to every man, and should be carefully preserved, but it would be a public loss; the people, being without a governor, would disperse here and there, fearing their own lives and property would not be safe under a murderer; and that the Chaldeans would be so incensed by such an action, as to come and revenge his death on them; and thus being scattered about, some one way, and some another, would be no more under any form of government as a body politic, and so perish as such, at least; and thus all their hopes, which began to revive, of their beings commonwealth again, would be lost: with this argument Johanan hoped to prevail on Gedaliah to give him leave to slay the conspirator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Discerning that Gedaliah took no great notice of his word spoken to him in the presence of the other captains, he goeth to him secretly, offereth him his service to prevent the stroke, if he might have commission from him; mindeth him that if he did not value his own life, yet he ought to consider in what a condition the people would be in case he were cut off; they were now but a small remnant, and then that remnant also would perish.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Johanan ... Kareah

See how you translated these men's names in Jeremiah 40:8. (See: How to Translate Names)

Gedaliah

See how you translated this name in Jeremiah 39:14.

Ishmael ... Nethaniah

See how you translated these men's names in Jeremiah 40:8.

No one will suspect me

"No one will think that I did it"

Why should he kill you?

Johanan uses a rhetorical question to try to change Gedaliah's thinking. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should not allow him to kill you." (See: Rhetorical Question)

Why allow all of Judah that has been gathered to you to be scattered and the remnant of Judah destroyed?

Johanan uses a rhetorical question to try to get Gedaliah to think about what will happen if Gedaliah does what Gedaliah is planning to do. AT: "If you do this, all of Judah that has been gathered to you will be scattered and the remnant of Judah will be destroyed." (See: Rhetorical Question)

all of Judah

The word "all" is a generalization. AT: "many of the people of Judah" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

that has been gathered to you

This can be translated in active form. AT: "who have come to you" or "whom Yahweh has brought to you" (See: Active or Passive)

to be scattered

This can be translated in active form. AT: "to have the Chaldeans scatter them" or "to flee away to many different lands" (See: Active or Passive)

the remnant of Judah destroyed

This can be translated in active form. AT: "allow the Chaldeans to destroy the remnant of Judah" or "and allow the remnant of Judah to perish" (See: Active or Passive and Ellipsis)

remnant of Judah

"remnant of the people of Judah." See how you translated this in Jeremiah 40:11.

Ahikam

See how you translated this name in Jeremiah 26:24.

translationWords

Mizpah

remnant

kingdom of Judah

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.