Jeremiah 26:10

26:10 However, some of the officials ¹  of Judah heard about what was happening ²  and they rushed up to the Lord’s temple from the royal palace. They set up court ³  at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s temple. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 26:16

26:16 Then the officials and all the people rendered their verdict to the priests and the prophets. They said, ⁵  “This man should not be condemned to die. ⁶  For he has spoken to us under the authority of the Lord our God.” ⁷ 

Jeremiah 36:12

36:12 He went down to the chamber of the royal secretary in the king’s palace and found all the court officials in session there. Elishama ⁸  the royal secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, ⁹  Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were seated there.

Jeremiah 36:24-25

36:24 Neither he nor any of his attendants showed any alarm when they heard all that had been read. Nor did they tear their clothes to show any grief or sorrow. ¹⁰  36:25 The king did not even listen to Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah, who had urged him not to burn the scroll. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 38:4

38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing ¹²  the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. ¹³  This ¹⁴  man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” ¹⁵ 

[26:10]  ¹ sn These officials of Judah were officials from the royal court. They may have included some of the officials mentioned in Jer 36:12-25. They would have been concerned about any possible “illegal” proceedings going on in the temple.

[26:10]  ² tn Heb “these things.”

[26:10]  ³ tn Heb “they sat” or “they took their seats.” However, the context is one of judicial trial.

[26:10]  ⁴ tn The translation follows many Hebrew mss and ancient versions in reading the word “house” (= temple) here. The majority of Hebrew mss do not have this word. It is, however, implicit in the construction “the New Gate of the Lord.”

[26:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets…”

[26:16]  ⁶ sn Contrast v. 11.

[26:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “For in the name of the Lord our God he has spoken to us.” The emphasis is on “in the name of…”

[36:12]  ⁸ sn If, as many believe, this man was the same as the Elishama mentioned in Jer 41:1; 2 Kgs 25:25, he was also a member of the royal family.

[36:12]  ⁹ sn This man has already been mentioned in Jer 26:22 as the official who was sent to Egypt to extradite the prophet Uriah that Jehoiakim had executed. Though he was instrumental in the death of that prophet, he appears to have been favorably disposed to Jeremiah or at least impressed by the seriousness of his messages, because he is one of the officials that urged Baruch and Jeremiah to hide (v. 19), and he counseled Jehoiakim not to burn the scroll (v. 25).

[36:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words were afraid or tore their clothes.” The sentence has been broken up into two shorter sentences to better conform to English style and some of the terms explained (e.g., tore their clothes) for the sake of clarity.

[36:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And also Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged [or had urged] the king not to burn the scroll, but he did not listen to them.” The translation attempts to lessen the clash in chronological sequencing with the preceding. This sentence is essentially a flash back to a time before the scroll was totally burned (v. 23).

[38:4]  ¹² tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).

[38:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “by saying these things.”

[38:4]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.

[38:4]  ¹⁵ tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”