5 and while he doth not reply -- `Or turn back unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath appointed over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him in the midst of the people, or whithersoever it is right in thine eyes to go -- go.' And the chief of the executioners giveth to him for the way, and a gift, and sendeth him away,
yea, they send and take Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and give him unto Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to carry him home, and he dwelleth in the midst of the people.
And Ishmael son of Nethaniah riseth, and the ten men who have been with him, and they smite Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and he putteth him to death whom the king of Babylon hath appointed over the land.
And Elisha cometh in to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram is sick, and it is declared to him, saying, `The man of God hath come hither.' And the king saith unto Hazael, `Take in thy hand a present, and go to meet the man of God, and thou hast sought Jehovah by him, saying, Do I revive from this sickness?' And Hazael goeth to meet him, and taketh a present in his hand, even of every good thing of Damascus, a burden of forty camels, and he cometh in and standeth before him, and saith, `Thy son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Do I revive from this sickness?'
Jehovah said, Did I not direct thee for good? Did not I intercede for thee in a time of evil, And in a time of adversity, with the enemy?
so that we do boldly say, `The Lord `is' to me a helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.'
but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, hindered them from the counsel, and did command those able to swim, having cast themselves out first -- to get unto the land,
on the next `day' also we touched at Sidon, and Julius, courteously treating Paul, did permit `him', having gone on unto friends, to receive `their' care.
And it cometh to pass, in the thirty and seventh year of the removal of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty and fifth of the month, hath Evil-Merodach king of Babylon lifted up, in the year of his reign, the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and bringeth him out from the house of restraint, and speaketh with him good things, and setteth his throne above the throne of the kings who `are' with him in Babylon, and he hath changed his prison garments, and he hath eaten bread before him continually, all the days of his life. And his allowance -- a continual allowance -- hath been given to him by the king of Babylon, the matter of a day in its day, till the day of his death -- all days of his life.
`And now, lo, I have loosed thee to-day from the chains that `are' on thy hand; if good in thine eyes to come with me `to' Babylon, come, and I keep mine eye upon thee: and if evil in thine eyes to come with me to Babylon, forbear; see, all the land `is' before thee, whither `it be' good, and whither `it be' right in thine eyes to go -- go.' --
Only, the hand of Ahikam son of Shaphan hath been with Jeremiah so as not to give him up into the hand of the people to put him to death.
Rivulets of waters `is' the heart of a king in the hand of Jehovah, Wherever He pleaseth He inclineth it.
When a man's ways please Jehovah, even his enemies, He causeth to be at peace with him.
And the king saith to me, `For what art thou seeking?' and I pray unto the God of the heavens, and say to the king, `If to the king `it be' good, and if thy servant be pleasing before thee, that thou send me unto Judah, unto the city of the graves of my fathers, and I built it.' And the king saith to me (and the queen is sitting near him), `How long is thy journey? and when dost thou return?' and it is good before the king, and he sendeth me away, and I set to him a time. And I say to the king, `If to the king `it be' good, letters let be given to me for the governors beyond the River, that they let me pass over till that I come in unto Judah: and a letter unto Asaph, keeper of the paradise that the king hath, that he give to me trees for beams `for' the gates of the palace that the house hath, and for the wall of the city, and for the house into which I enter;' and the king giveth to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
`I beseech Thee, O Lord, let, I pray Thee, Thine ear be attentive unto the prayer of Thy servant, and unto the prayer of Thy servants, those delighting to fear Thy Name; and give prosperity, I pray Thee, to Thy servant to-day, and give him for mercies before this man;' and I have been butler to the king.
Ezra himself hath come up from Babylon, and he `is' a scribe ready in the law of Moses, that Jehovah God of Israel gave, and the king giveth to him -- according to the hand of Jehovah his God upon him -- all his request.
and the king commandeth Hilkiah, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Abdon son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah, servant of the king, saying,
And the people that is left in the land of Judah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath left -- he appointeth over them Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan. And all the heads of the forces hear -- they and the men -- that the king of Babylon hath appointed Gedaliah, and they come in unto Gedaliah, to Mizpah, even Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and Johanan son of Kareah, and Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maachathite -- they and their men; and Gedaliah sweareth to them, and to their men, and saith to them, `Be not afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans, dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it is good for you.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 40
Commentary on Jeremiah 40 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 40
We have attended Jerusalem's funeral pile, and have taken our leave of the captives that were carried to Babylon, not expecting to hear any more of them in this book: perhaps we may in Ezekiel; and we must in this and the four following chapters observe the story of those few Jews that were left to remain in the land after their brethren were carried away, and it is a very melancholy story; for, though at first there were some hopeful prospects of their well-doing, they soon appeared as obstinate in sin as ever, unhumbled and unreformed, till, all the rest of the judgments threatened in Deu. 28 being brought upon them, that which in the last verse of that dreadful chapter completes the threatenings was accomplished, "The Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again.' In this chapter we have,
Jer 40:1-6
The title of this part of the book, which begins the chapter, seems misapplied (The word which came to Jeremiah), for here is nothing of prophecy in this chapter, but it is to be referred to ch. 42:7, where we have a message that God sent by Jeremiah to the captains and the people that remained. The story between is only to introduce that prophecy and show the occasion of it, that it may be the better understood, and Jeremiah, being himself concerned in the story, was the better able to give an account of it.
In these verses we have Jeremiah's adhering, by the advice of Nebuzar-adan, to Gedaliah. It should seem that Jeremiah was very honourably fetched out of the court of the prison by the king of Babylon's princes (ch. 39:13, 14), but afterwards, being found among the people in the city, when orders were given to the inferior officers to bind all they found that were of any fashion, in order to their being carried captives to Babylon, he, through ignorance and mistake, was bound among the rest and hurried away. Poor man! he seems to have been born to hardship and abuse-man of sorrows indeed! But when the captives were brought manacled to Ramah, not far off, where a council of war, or court-martial, was held for giving orders concerning them, Jeremiah was soon distinguished from the rest, and, by special order of the court, was discharged.
Jer 40:7-16
We have in these verses,