Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Kings 25:24 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 24. 24And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Gedaliah's administration ends in assassination and flight.”
Gedaliah is set over those who remain, and he swears they may stay
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Kings 25:22–26. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Kings 25:22–26
Read 2 Kings 25:24 with 25:22–26. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Nebuchadnezzar appoints Gedaliah over remaining people, he urges service to Babylon, Ishmael assassinates him, and the population flees to Egypt in fear.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Gedaliah's administration ends in assassination and flight,” 2 Kings 25:24 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Kings 25:18–21 establishes this prior movement: The guard commander takes priests, officials, advisers, military personnel, and sixty people to Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah, where they are killed, and Judah goes into exile. 2 Kings 25:22–26 reverses, redirects, or qualifies the preceding movement; that evidenced relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 2 Kings 25:22–26 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 25:22–26 forms one scene or regnal notice: Nebuchadnezzar appoints Gedaliah over remaining people, he urges service to Babylon, Ishmael assassinates him, and the population flees to Egypt in fear.
Verse 22. 22 And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler.
Verse 23. 23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
Verse 24. 24 And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you.
Verse 25. 25 But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah.
Verse 26. 26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.
Follow the Context
- Nebuchadnezzar appoints Gedaliah over remaining people, he urges service to Babylon, Ishmael assassinates him, and the population flees to Egypt in fear.
- The unit closes by establishing the result or tension named in “Gedaliah's administration ends in assassination and flight” before the next narrated movement.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Kings 25:24 does not permit the wording “And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. Pragmatic submission is not automatically cowardice, assassination is not resistance to celebrate, and refugees must not be blamed for fleeing danger.
What Remains True
Theological interpretation never makes imperial domination morally clean or turns displaced and subjected people into scenery for a ruler's story. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Nebuchadnezzar appoints Gedaliah over remaining people, he urges service to Babylon, Ishmael assassinates him, and the population flees to Egypt in fear. In 2 Kings 25:24, the concrete line “And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
In 70–220 words, explain 2 Kings 25:24's role in 25:22–26. Paraphrase “And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said unto them, Fear not to be the…,” identify one agent or affected person, state one material source or historical limit, and name one conclusion the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Kings 25:22–26 — Gedaliah's administration ends in assassination and flightSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The fuller Jeremiah traditions add motives and warnings; this compressed Kings account should not be made to answer every question about Gedaliah, Ishmael, or the flight.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 25:22–26, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 25:22–26
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 666–667, translation and translator notes for 25:22–26
Open source ↗