Jeremiah 35:8

35:8 We and our wives and our sons and daughters have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. We have never drunk wine. ¹ 

Jeremiah 38:27

38:27 All the officials did indeed come and question Jeremiah. ²  He told them exactly what the king had instructed him to say. ³  They stopped questioning him any further because no one had actually heard their conversation. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “We have not drunk wine all our days.” Actually vv. 8b-9a are a series of infinitive constructs plus the negative לְבִלְתִּי (lÿvilti) explaining the particulars of how they have obeyed, i.e., by not drinking wine…and by not building….” The more direct declarative statement is used here to shorten the sentence and is more in keeping with contemporary style.

² tn Heb “All the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him.”

³ tn Heb “And he reported to them according to all these words which the king had commanded.”

⁴ tn Heb “And they were silent from him because the word/matter [i.e., the conversation between Jeremiah and the king] had not been heard.” According to BDB 578 s.v. מִן 1.a the preposition “from” is significant in this construction, implying a verb of motion. I.e., “they were [fell] silent [and turned away] from him.”