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Jeremiah 39:16-18
New English Translation
Jeremiah 39:16-18
New English Translation
16 “Go[a] and tell Ebed Melech the Nubian,[b] ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, has said, “I will carry out against this city what I promised. It will mean disaster and not good fortune for it.[c] When that disaster happens, you will be there to see it.[d] 17 But I will rescue you when it happens.[e] I, the Lord, affirm it![f] You will not be handed over to those whom you fear.[g] 18 I will certainly save you. You will not fall victim to violence.[h] You will escape with your life[i] because you trust in me. I, the Lord, affirm it!”’”[j]
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- Jeremiah 39:16 sn Even though Jeremiah was confined to the courtyard of the guardhouse, he was still free to entertain visitors (32:2, 8). Moreover, Ebed Melech was an official attached to the royal court and would have had access to the courtyard of the guardhouse (38:7, 13). Jeremiah would not have had to leave the courtyard of the guardhouse to “go and tell” him something.
- Jeremiah 39:16 tn Heb “Cushite”; traditional “Ethiopian” invites confusion with modern Ethiopia, whereas this term refers to Nubia, a kingdom up the Nile to the south of Egypt.
- Jeremiah 39:16 tn Heb “Behold, I will bring to pass my words against this city for evil/disaster and not for good/good fortune.” For the form of the verb מֵבִי ([mevi] Kethib, מֵבִיא [meviʾ] Qere), see GKC 206-7 §74.k, where the same form is noted for the Kethib in 2 Sam 5:2; 1 Kgs 21:21; Jer 19:15, all of which occur before a word beginning with א (ʾalef). For the nuance “carry out” (or “bring to pass”), see BDB 99 s.v. בּוֹא Hiph.2.b.
- Jeremiah 39:16 tn Heb “And they [= my words for disaster] will come to pass [= happen] before you on that day [i.e., the day that I bring them to pass/carry them out].”
- Jeremiah 39:17 tn Heb “But I will rescue you on that day” (referring to the same day mentioned in the preceding verse).
- Jeremiah 39:17 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 39:17 sn Some commentators see this as a reference to the princes from whose clutches Ebed-Melech delivered Jeremiah (38:7-13). However, it is clear that in this context it refers to those that he would fear when the Lord brought about the threatened disaster, i.e., the Babylonians who were already attacking the city.
- Jeremiah 39:18 sn Heb “you will not fall by the sword.” In the context this would include death in battle and execution as a prisoner of war.
- Jeremiah 39:18 tn Heb “your life will be to you for spoil.” For the meaning of this idiom see the study note on 21:9 and compare the usage in 21:9; 38:2; 45:4.
- Jeremiah 39:18 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”
New English Translation (NET)
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