Jeremiah 38:4

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 

Ex 5:4; 1Ki 18:17,18; 1Ki 21:20; 2Ch 24:21; Ezr 4:12; Ne 6:9; Jer 26:11,21-23; Jer 29:7; Jer 36:12-16; Eze 22:27; Am 7:10; Mic 3:1-3; Zep 3:1-3; Lu 23:2; Joh 11:46-50; Ac 16:20; Ac 17:6; Ac 24:5; Ac 28:22

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].”