Jeremiah 38:10 New English Translation
10 Then the king gave Ebed Melech the Ethiopian the following order: “Take thirty[a] men with you from here and go pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”
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- Jeremiah 38:10 tc Some modern English versions (e.g., NRSV, REB, TEV) and commentaries read “three” on the basis that thirty men would not be necessary for the task (cf. J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 231). But cisterns could be 15 to 20 feet deep. Though the difference in “three” and “thirty” involves minimal emendation (שְׁלֹשָׁה [sheloshah] for שְׁלֹשִׁים [sheloshim]), there is no textual or versional evidence for it except one Hebrew ms. The number could also have been large to prevent officials from hindering Ebed Melech in accomplishing the task.
New English Translation (NET)
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