Discovery Box1 Kings 22:27
Context22:27 Say, ‘This is what the king says, “Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water 1 until I safely return.”’” 2
Jeremiah 37:15-16
Context37:15 The officials were very angry 3 at Jeremiah. They had him flogged and put in prison in the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary, which they had converted into a place for confining prisoners. 4
37:16 So 5 Jeremiah was put in prison in a cell in the dungeon in Jonathan’s house. 6 He 7 was kept there for a long time.
Jeremiah 38:26
Context38:26 If they do this, tell 8 them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to die in the dungeon of Jonathan’s house.’” 9
Lamentations 3:53-55
Context3:53 They shut me 10 up in a pit
and threw stones at me.
3:54 The waters closed over my head;
I thought 11 I was about to die. 12
ק (Qof)
3:55 I have called on your name, O Lord,
from the deepest pit. 13
[22:27] 1 tn Heb “the bread of affliction and the water of affliction.”
[22:27] 2 tn Heb “come in peace.” So also in v. 28.
[37:15] 3 sn The officials mentioned here are not the same as those mentioned in Jer 36:12, most of whom were favorably disposed toward Jeremiah, or at least regarded what he said with enough trepidation to try to protect Jeremiah and preserve the scroll containing his messages (36:16, 19, 24). All those officials had been taken into exile with Jeconiah in 597
[37:15] 4 tn Heb “for they had made it into the house of confinement.” The causal particle does not fit the English sentence very well and “house of confinement” needs some explanation. Some translate this word “prison” but that creates redundancy with the earlier word translated “prison” (בֵּית הָאֵסוּר, bet ha’esur, “house of the band/binding”] which is more closely related to the concept of prison [cf. אָסִיר, ’asir, “prisoner”]). It is clear from the next verse that Jeremiah was confined in a cell in the dungeon of this place.
[37:16] 5 tn The particle כִּי (ki) here is probably temporal, introducing the protasis to the main clause in v. 17 (cf. BDB 473 s.v. כִּי 2.a). However, that would make the translation too long, so the present translation does what several modern English versions do here, though there are no parallels listed for this nuance in the lexicons.
[37:16] 6 tn Heb “Jeremiah came into the house of the pit [= “dungeon,” BDB 92 s.v. בּוֹר 4 and compare usage in Gen 40:15; 41:14] and into the cells [this word occurs only here; it is defined on the basis of the cognate languages (cf. BDB 333 s.v. חָנוּת)].” The sentence has been restructured and some words supplied in the translation to better relate it to the preceding context.
[37:16] 7 tn Heb “Jeremiah.” But the proper name is somewhat redundant and unnecessary in a modern translation.
[38:26] 8 tn Verses 25-26 form a long compound, complex conditional sentence. The condition is found in v. 25 and contains a long quote. The consequence is found in v. 26 and contains another long quote. The Hebrew sentence literally reads: “And if the officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Please tell us what you said to the king. Do not hide from us and we will not kill you [so that we will not kill you] and [tell us] what the king said to you,’ then tell them.” The sentence has been broken up to better conform with contemporary English style.
[38:26] 9 tn Heb “I was causing to fall [= presenting] my petition before the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.” The word “dungeon of” is supplied in the translation to help the reader connect this petition with Jeremiah’s earlier place of imprisonment where the officials had put him with every intention of letting him die there (37:15-16, 20).
[3:54] 11 tn Heb “I said,” meaning “I said to myself” = “I thought.”
[3:54] 12 tn Heb “I was about to be cut off.” The verb נִגְזָרְתִּי (nigzarti), Niphal perfect 1st person common singular from גָּזַר (gazar, “to be cut off”), functions in an ingressive sense: “about to be cut off.” It is used in reference to the threat of death (e.g., Ezek 37:11). To be “cut off” from the hand of the living means to experience death (Ps 88:6).
