Discovery BoxJeremiah 38:4 
Context38:4 So these officials said to the king, “This man must be put to death. For he is demoralizing 1 the soldiers who are left in the city as well as all the other people there by these things he is saying. 2 This 3 man is not seeking to help these people but is trying to harm them.” 4
1 tn Heb “weakening the hands of.” For this idiom see BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Pi. and compare the usage in Isa 13:7; Ezek 21:7 (21:12 HT).
2 tn Heb “by saying these things.”
3 tn The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) has not been rendered here because it is introducing a parallel causal clause to the preceding one. To render “For” might be misunderstood as a grounds for the preceding statement. To render “And” or “Moreover” sounds a little odd here. If it must be represented, “Moreover” is perhaps the best rendering.
4 tn Or “is not looking out for these people’s best interests but is really trying to do them harm”; Heb “is not seeking the welfare [or “well-being”; Hebrew shalom] of this people but [their] harm [more literally, evil].”
