Verse Lens · Context pointer
Jeremiah 40:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The narrated crisis and constrained human response carries the next action, claim, image, or measurement through “Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of…” at Jeremiah 40:5 as part of “Jeremiah Chooses to Remain with Gedaliah.”
Read It With
- Jeremiah 40:1–6
Read Jeremiah 40:5 with 40:1–6. By itself, “Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, imperial horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: Released in chains at Ramah, Jeremiah hears an imperial interpretation of the fall, declines travel to Babylon, and joins Gedaliah at Mizpah.
Why It Needs Context
Jeremiah 40:1–6 gives Jeremiah 40:5 its literary owner and outcome. The narrated crisis and constrained human response carries the next action, claim, image, or measurement through “Now while he was not yet gone back, he said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of…” at Jeremiah 40:5 as part of “Jeremiah Chooses to Remain with Gedaliah.” Application waits until that movement is understood.
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 Jeremiah 40:1–6 — Jeremiah Chooses to Remain with GedaliahSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
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 displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 40:1–6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 40:1–6
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗