Jeremiah 38:15

38:15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I answer you, you will certainly kill me. ¹  If I give you advice, you will not listen to me.”

Jeremiah 42:4

42:4 The prophet Jeremiah answered them, “Agreed! ²  I will indeed pray to the Lord your God as you have asked. I will tell you everything the Lord replies in response to you. ³  I will not keep anything back from you.”

¹ tn Or “you will most certainly kill me, won’t you?” Heb “Will you not certainly kill me?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. In situations like this BDB s.v. לֹא 4.b(β) says that הֲלֹא (halo’) “has a tendency to become little more than an affirmative particle, declaring with some rhetorical emphasis what is, or might be, well known.” The idea of certainty is emphasized here by the addition of the infinitive absolute before the finite verb (Joüon 2:422 §123.e).

² tn Heb “I have heard” = “I agree.” For this nuance of the verb see BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע Qal.1.j and compare the usage in Gen 37:27 and Judg 11:17 listed there.

³ tn Heb “all the word which the Lord will answer you.