Jeremiah 39:11-12

39:11 Now King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had issued orders concerning Jeremiah. He had passed them on through Nebuzaradan, the captain of his royal guard, ¹  39:12 “Find Jeremiah ²  and look out for him. ³  Do not do anything to harm him, ⁴  but do with him whatever he tells you.”

[39:11]  ¹ tn Heb “And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon commanded concerning Jeremiah by the hand of Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, saying.” Since Nebuchadnezzar is at Riblah (v. 6) and Nebuzaradan and the other officers named in the next verse are at Jerusalem, the vav consecutive imperfect should again be translated as a pluperfect (see 38:2 and the translator’s notes there for explanation). For the meaning of “through” or “through the agency of” for the phrase בְּיַד (bÿyad) see BDB 391 s.v. יָד 5.d. The sentence has been broken up to better conform with contemporary English style.

[39:12]  ² tn Heb “Get [or fetch] him.” The referent is supplied for clarity.

[39:12]  ³ tn Or “take care of him”; Heb “set your eyes on him.” For the meaning of this idiom see BDB 963 s.v. שִׂים 2.c and compare 24:6 where the phrase “for good” is added.

[39:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “Don’t do anything evil [= harmful] to him.”