Jeremiah 38:18-21
38:18 But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be handed over to the Babylonians 1 and they will burn it down. You yourself will not escape from them.’” 2
38:19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Babylonians. 3 The Babylonians might hand me over to them and they will torture me.” 4
38:20 Then Jeremiah answered, “You will not be handed over to them. Please obey the Lord by doing what I have been telling you. 5 Then all will go well with you and your life will be spared. 6
38:21 But if you refuse to surrender, the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw:
1 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
2 tn Heb “will not escape from their hand.”
sn Zedekiah held out this hope of escape until the end and attempted to do so but was unsuccessful (cf. 39:4-5).
3 tn Heb “Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4 for explanation.
4 tn Or “and they will badly abuse me.” For the usage of this verb in the situation presupposed see Judg 19:25 and 1 Sam 31:4.
5 tn Heb “Please listen to the voice of the Lord with regard to what I have been telling you.” For the idiom “listen to the voice” = “obey” see BDB 1034 s.v. שָׁמַע 1.m. Obedience here is expressed by following the advice in the qualifying clause, i.e., what I have been telling you.
6 tn Heb “your life [or you yourself] will live.” Compare v. 17 and the translator’s note there for the idiom.