Jeremiah 40:16

THE MESSAGE

But Gedaliah son of Ahikam told Johanan son of Kareah, "Don't do it. I forbid it. You're spreading a false rumor about Ishmael."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do that! What you’re saying about Ishmael is a lie.”

Hebrew Names Version
But Gedalyahu the son of Achikam said to Yochanan the son of Kareach, You shall not do this thing; for you speak falsely of Yishma'el.

King James Version
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

English Standard Version
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael."

New American Standard Bible
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

New Century Version
But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Do not kill Ishmael! The things you are saying about Ishmael are not true."

Amplified Bible
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not do this thing, for you are lying about Ishmael."

World English Bible
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, You shall not do this thing; for you speak falsely of Ishmael.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam said vnto Iohanan the sonne of Kareah, Thou shalt not doe this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

Legacy Standard Bible
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

Berean Standard Bible
But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Do not do such a thing! What you are saying about Ishmael is a lie."

Contemporary English Version
Gedaliah answered, "Don't kill Ishmael! What you've said about him can't be true."

Complete Jewish Bible
But G'dalyahu the son of Achikam said to Yochanan the son of Kareach, "Don't do it. What you are saying about Yishma‘el is not true."

Darby Translation
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing; for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

Easy-to-Read Version
But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Don't kill Ishmael. The things you are saying about Ishmael are not true."

George Lamsa Translation
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, You shall not do this thing; for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael.

Good News Translation
But Gedaliah answered, "Don't do it! What you are saying about Ishmael is not true!"

Lexham English Bible
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You must not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

Literal Translation
But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, said to Johanan, the son of Kareah, You shall not do this thing. For you speak falsely concerning Ishmael.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The sayde Godolias the sonne of Ahicam to Iohanna the sonne of Carea: Thou shalt not do it, for they are but lies, that men saye of Ismael.

American Standard Version
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing; for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

Bible in Basic English
But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, said to Johanan, the son of Kareah, You are not to do this: for what you say about Ishmael is false.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah: 'Thou shalt not do this thing; for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.'

King James Version (1611)
But Gedaliah the sonne of Ahikam sayd vnto Iohanan the sonne of Kareah; Thou shalt not do this thing, for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Gedaliah the sonne of Ahicam sayde to Iohanan the sonne of Careah, Thou shalt not do it: for they are but lyes that thou sayest of Ismael.

English Revised Version
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Godolie, the sone of Aicham, seide to Johannan, the sone of Caree, Nyle thou do this word, for thou spekist fals of Ismael.

Update Bible Version
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, You shall not do this thing; for you speak falsely of Ishmael.

Webster's Bible Translation
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

New English Translation
But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Do not do that because what you are saying about Ishmael is not true."

New King James Version
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "You shall not do this thing, for you speak falsely concerning Ishmael."

New Living Translation
But Gedaliah said to Johanan, "I forbid you to do any such thing, for you are lying about Ishmael."

New Life Bible
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not do this. For you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

New Revised Standard
But Gedaliah son of Ahikam said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Do not do such a thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Gedaliah son of Ahikam unto Johanan son of Kareah, Thou mayest not do this thing, - for, falsely, art thou speaking against Ishmael.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Godolias the son of Ahicam said to Johanan the son of Caree: Do not this thing: for what thou sayst of Ismahel is false.

Revised Standard Version
But Gedali'ah the son of Ahi'kam said to Joha'nan the son of Kare'ah, "You shall not do this thing, for you are speaking falsely of Ish'mael."

Young's Literal Translation
And Gedaliah son of Ahikam saith unto Johanan son of Kareah, `Thou dost not do this thing, for falsehood thou art speaking concerning Ishmael.'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."

Contextual Overview

⁷When the army leaders and their men, who had been hiding out in the fields, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam as governor of the land, putting him in charge of the men, women, and children of the poorest of the poor who hadn't been taken off to exile in Babylon, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, accompanied by their men. ⁹ Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, promised them and their men, "You have nothing to fear from the Chaldean officials. Stay here on the land. Be subject to the king of Babylon. You'll get along just fine. ¹⁰ "My job is to stay here in Mizpah and be your advocate before the Chaldeans when they show up. Your job is to take care of the land: Make wine, harvest the summer fruits, press olive oil. Store it all in pottery jugs and settle into the towns that you have taken over." ¹¹The Judeans who had escaped to Moab, Ammon, Edom, and other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few survivors in Judah and made Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor over them. They all started coming back to Judah from all the places where they'd been scattered. They came to Judah and to Gedaliah at Mizpah and went to work gathering in a huge supply of wine and summer fruits. ¹³One day Johanan son of Kareah and all the officers of the army who had been hiding out in the backcountry came to Gedaliah at Mizpah and told him, "You know, don't you, that Baaliss king of Ammon has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to kill you?" But Gedaliah son of Ahikam didn't believe them. ¹⁵ Then Johanan son of Kareah took Gedaliah aside privately in Mizpah: "Let me go and kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one needs to know about it. Why should we let him kill you and plunge the land into anarchy? Why let everyone you've taken care of be scattered and what's left of Judah destroyed?" ¹⁶ But Gedaliah son of Ahikam told Johanan son of Kareah, "Don't do it. I forbid it. You're spreading a false rumor about Ishmael."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thou shalt: Jeremiah 41:2, Matthew 10:16, Matthew 10:17, Romans 3:8

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 25:25 - Ishmael Job 31:31 - the men Isaiah 33:15 - stoppeth

Cross-References

Genesis 40:1
As time went on, it happened that the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt crossed their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the head cupbearer and the head baker, and put them in custody under the captain of the guard; it was the same jail where Joseph was held. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to see to their needs. After they had been in custody for a while, the king's cupbearer and baker, while being held in the jail, both had a dream on the same night, each dream having its own meaning. When Joseph arrived in the morning, he noticed that they were feeling low. So he asked them, the two officials of Pharaoh who had been thrown into jail with him, "What's wrong? Why the long faces?" They said, "We dreamed dreams and there's no one to interpret them." Joseph said, "Don't interpretations come from God? Tell me the dreams." First the head cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: "In my dream there was a vine in front of me with three branches on it: It budded, blossomed, and the clusters ripened into grapes. I was holding Pharaoh's cup; I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh." Joseph said, "Here's the meaning. The three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will get you out of here and put you back to your old work—you'll be giving Pharaoh his cup just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me when things are going well with you again—tell Pharaoh about me and get me out of this place. I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And since I've been here, I've done nothing to deserve being put in this hole." When the head baker saw how well Joseph's interpretation turned out, he spoke up: "My dream went like this: I saw three wicker baskets on my head; the top basket had assorted pastries from the bakery and birds were picking at them from the basket on my head." Joseph said, "This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days; within three days Pharaoh will take off your head, impale you on a post, and the birds will pick your bones clean." And sure enough, on the third day it was Pharaoh's birthday and he threw a feast for all his servants. He set the head cupbearer and the head baker in places of honor in the presence of all the guests. Then he restored the head cupbearer to his cupbearing post; he handed Pharaoh his cup just as before. And then he impaled the head baker on a post, following Joseph's interpretations exactly. But the head cupbearer never gave Joseph another thought; he forgot all about him.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah,.... In answer to his request, and the motion made by him:

thou shalt not do this thing; or, "do not do this thing" z; dissuading him from it, as being unlawful to take away a man's life in such a secret manner, without any legal process against him; though it seems to carry more in it, that he laid his commands upon him not to do it, and threatened him if he did:

for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael; or "a lie" a; a falsehood, a mere calumny; which was not using Johanan well, neither kindly nor genteelly, who had expressed such a concern for him, and for the public good. The event related in the following chapter shows that the information was good, and that it was no lie or calumny that was told; and it would have been well for Gedaliah, and the people of the Jews, had he given credit to it; but the time was not come for the Jewish commonwealth to be restored; and things were thus suffered to be, for the further punishment of the sins of that people.

z אל תעש את הדבר "noli facere hoc verbum", V. L. "ne facias verbum hoc", Pagninus, Montanus, Schmidt. a שקר "mendacium", Schmidt; "falsum", Pagninus, Montanus.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 40:16. Thou shalt not do this thing — He cannot be so base.

Thou speakest falsely of Ishmael. — He thought it quite possible that the man who was capable of becoming an assassin was capable of telling a lie; and therefore he would not credit what he said. Had he been a little more distrustful, he would have saved his own life. The next chapter shows that Johanan's information was too true. So noble Gedaliah lost his life by not believing that evil of others of which he himself was incapable.