He spoke kindly to him probably has a larger meaning than merely speaking: “treated him kindly” (Good News Translation) or “treated Jehoiachin in a friendly way” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Gave him a seat above the seats of the kings must be taken to mean “gave him a position of honor above the foreign kings” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or “gave him a position of greater honor than he gave the other kings” (Good News Translation).

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .