Jeremiah 37:4

37:4 (Now Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison. ¹  So he was still free to come and go among the people as he pleased. ² 

Jeremiah 38:13

38:13 So they pulled Jeremiah up from the cistern with ropes. Jeremiah, however, still remained confined ³  to the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Jeremiah 39:7

39:7 Then he had Zedekiah’s eyes put out and had him bound in chains ⁴  to be led off to Babylon.

[37:4]  ¹ sn This statement anticipates v. 15. Verses 3-4 are parenthetical to the narrative thread which is picked up in v. 5. They provide background information necessary for understanding the situation at the time the delegation comes to Jeremiah.

[37:4]  ² tn The words “as he pleased” are not in the text but are implicit in the idiom both in Hebrew and in English. They have been supplied in the translation for clarity and the sake of English idiom.

[38:13]  ³ tn Heb “Jeremiah remained/stayed in the courtyard of the guardhouse.” The translation is meant to better reflect the situation; i.e., Jeremiah was released from the cistern but still had to stay in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

[39:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “fetters of bronze.” The more generic “chains” is used in the translation because “fetters” is a word unfamiliar to most modern readers.