Discovery BoxJeremiah 7:7 
Context7:7 If you stop doing these things, 1 I will allow you to continue to live in this land 2 which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession. 3
Jeremiah 38:5
Context38:5 King Zedekiah said to them, “Very well, you can do what you want with him. 4 For I cannot do anything to stop you.” 5
1 tn The translation uses imperatives in vv. 5-6 followed by the phrase, “If you do all this,” to avoid the long and complex sentence structure of the Hebrew sentence which has a series of conditional clauses in vv. 5-6 followed by a main clause in v. 7.
2 tn Heb “live in this place, in this land.”
3 tn Heb “gave to your fathers [with reference to] from ancient times even unto forever.”
4 tn Heb “Behold, he is in your hands [= power/control].”
5 tn Heb “For the king cannot do a thing with/against you.” The personal pronoun “I” is substituted in the English translation due to differences in style; Hebrew style often uses the third person or the title in speaking of oneself but English rarely if ever does. Compare the common paraphrasis of “your servant” for “I” in Hebrew (cf. BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד 6 and usage in 1 Sam 20:7, 8) and compare the usage in Pss 63:11 (63:12 HT); 61:6 (61:7 HT) where the king is praying for himself. For the meaning of יָכֹל (yakhol) as “to be able to do anything,” see BDB 407 s.v. יָכֹל 1.g.
