Discovery Box2 Chronicles 18:8
Context18:8 The king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah.”
Jeremiah 37:15-21
Context37:15 The officials were very angry 1 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. 2
37:16 So 3 Jeremiah was put in prison in a cell in the dungeon in Jonathan’s house. 4 He 5 was kept there for a long time. 37:17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him, 6 “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he announced, 7 “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” 8 37:18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What crime have I committed against you, or the officials who serve you, or the people of Judah? What have I done to make you people throw me into prison? 9 37:19 Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that 10 the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land? 37:20 But now please listen, your royal Majesty, 11 and grant my plea for mercy. 12 Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary. If you do, I will die there.” 13 37:21 Then King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be committed to the courtyard of the guardhouse. He also ordered that a loaf of bread 14 be given to him every day from the baker’s street until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah was kept 15 in the courtyard of the guardhouse.
Jeremiah 38:6-7
Context38:6 So the officials 16 took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern 17 of Malkijah, one of the royal princes, 18 that was in the courtyard of the guardhouse. There was no water in the cistern, only mud. So when they lowered Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes he sank in the mud. 19
38:7 An Ethiopian, Ebed Melech, 20 a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put 21 in the cistern. While the king was holding court 22 at the Benjamin Gate,
Acts 24:25-27
Context24:25 While Paul 23 was discussing 24 righteousness, self-control, 25 and the coming judgment, Felix 26 became 27 frightened and said, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, 28 I will send for you.” 24:26 At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, 29 and for this reason he sent for Paul 30 as often as possible 31 and talked 32 with him. 24:27 After two years 33 had passed, Porcius Festus 34 succeeded Felix, 35 and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. 36
[37:15] 1 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] 2 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] 3 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] 4 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] 5 tn Heb “Jeremiah.” But the proper name is somewhat redundant and unnecessary in a modern translation.
[37:17] 6 tn Heb “Then King Zedekiah sent and brought him and the king asked him privately [or more literally, in secret] and said.”
[37:17] 7 tn Heb “Then he said.”
[37:17] 8 sn Jeremiah’s answer even under duress was the same that he had given Zedekiah earlier. (See Jer 34:3 and see the study note on 34:1 for the relative timing of these two incidents.)
[37:18] 9 tn Heb “What crime have I committed against you, or your servants, or this people that you [masc. pl.] have put me in prison?” Some of the terms have been expanded for clarification and the sentence has been broken in two to better conform with contemporary English style.
The masculine plural is used here because Zedekiah is being addressed as representative of the whole group previously named.
[37:19] 10 tn Heb “And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land?’” The indirect quote has been used in the translation because of its simpler, more direct style.
[37:20] 11 tn Heb “My lord, the king.”
[37:20] 12 tn Heb “let my plea for mercy fall before you.” I.e., let it come before you and be favorably received (= granted; by metonymical extension).
[37:20] 13 tn Or “So that I will not die there,” or “or I will die there”; Heb “and I will not die there.” The particle that introduces this clause (וְלֹא) regularly introduces negative purpose clauses after the volitive sequence (אַל [’al] + jussive here) according to GKC 323 §109.g. However, purpose and result clauses in Hebrew (and Greek) are often indistinguishable. Here the clause is more in the nature of a negative result.
[37:21] 14 tn Heb “And/Then King Zedekiah ordered and they committed Jeremiah to [or deposited…in] the courtyard of the guardhouse and they gave to him a loaf of bread.” The translation has been structured the way it has to avoid the ambiguous “they” which is the impersonal subject which is sometimes rendered passive in English (cf. GKC 460 §144.d). This text also has another example of the vav (ו) + infinitive absolute continuing a finite verbal form (וְנָתֹן [vÿnaton] = “and they gave”; cf. GKC 345 §113.y and see Jer 32:44; 36:23).
[37:21] 15 tn Heb “Stayed/Remained/ Lived.”
[38:6] 17 sn A cistern was a pear-shaped pit with a narrow opening. Cisterns were cut or dug in the limestone rock and lined with plaster to prevent seepage. They were used to collect and store rain water or water carried up from a spring.
[38:6] 18 tn Heb “the son of the king.” See the translator’s note on Jer 36:26 for the rendering here.
[38:6] 19 tn Heb “And they let Jeremiah down with ropes and in the cistern there was no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” The clauses have been reordered and restructured to create a more natural and smoother order in English.
[38:7] 20 sn This individual, Ebed Melech, is mentioned only here. Later he will be promised deliverance from destruction when the city falls because he had shown trust in God (see Jer 39:16-18).
[38:7] 21 tn Heb “Ebed Melech, the Cushite, a man, an eunuch/official, and he was [= who was; a circumstantial clause] in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah…” The passive construction “Jeremiah had been put” has been used to avoid the indefinite subject “they” or the addition of “the officials.” For the translation of סָרִיס (saris) as “official” here rather than “eunuch” see the translator’s note on 29:2 and see also the usage in 34:19. For the translation of “Cushite” as Ethiopian see the study note on 13:23.
[38:7] 22 tn Heb “And the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate.” This clause is circumstantial to the following clause; thus “while the king was…” Most commentators agree that the reference to sitting in the gate here likely refers to the same kind of judicial context that has been posited for 26:10 (see the translator’s note there for further references). Hence the translation uses “sitting” with the more technical “holding court” to better reflect the probable situation.
[24:25] 23 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:25] 24 tn Or “speaking about.”
[24:25] 25 tn Grk “and self-control.” This καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
[24:25] 26 sn See the note on Felix in 23:26.
[24:25] 27 tn Grk “becoming.” The participle γενόμενος (genomenos) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[24:25] 28 tn Or “when I find time.” BDAG 639 s.v. μεταλαμβάνω 2 has “καιρὸν μ. have an opportunity = find time…Ac 24:25.”
[24:26] 29 tn Grk “he was hoping that money would be given to him by Paul.” To simplify the translation, the passive construction has been converted to an active one.
[24:26] 30 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[24:26] 31 tn “As often as possible” reflects the comparative form of the adjective πυκνός (puknos); see BDAG 897 s.v. πυκνός, which has “Neut. of the comp. πυκνότερον as adv. more often, more frequently and in an elative sense very often, quite frequently…also as often as possible…Ac 24:26.”
[24:26] 32 tn On this term, which could mean “conferred with him,” see BDAG 705 s.v. ὁμιλέω.
[24:27] 33 tn Grk “After a two-year period.”
[24:27] 34 sn Porcius Festus was the procurator of Palestine who succeeded Felix; neither the beginning nor the end of his rule (at his death) can be determined with certainty, although he appears to have died in office after about two years. Nero recalled Felix in
[24:27] 35 tn Grk “Felix received as successor Porcius Festus.”
