Discovery BoxJeremiah 37:17-18 
Context37:17 Then King Zedekiah had him brought to the palace. There he questioned him privately and asked him, 1 “Is there any message from the Lord?” Jeremiah answered, “Yes, there is.” Then he announced, 2 “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.” 3 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? 4
1 tn Heb “Then King Zedekiah sent and brought him and the king asked him privately [or more literally, in secret] and said.”
2 tn Heb “Then he said.”
3 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.)
4 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.
