Verses 18-19 contain God’s promises to protect Jeremiah, which correspond to the commands that he gave him in verse 17. In the same way that the nation’s enemies were to attack the fortified city of Jerusalem, so everyone in the land will attack Jeremiah (verse 18). However, the difference is that Jeremiah will not fall, as will the city of Jerusalem (verse 19).

And I corresponds to “But you” in verse 17. By placing the pronoun I in this emphatic position, the LORD guarantees his protection to Jeremiah. New American Bible shows this emphasis with “For it is I this day.” “But I for my part” would also convey this. But other translations feel that the flow of the discourse shows the contrast strongly enough without such a construction.

Behold is an emphatic marker (see 1.6).

A fortified city contrasts with towns out in the open country that were without walls and other fortifications (see Num 13.19). As with “walls” in verse 15, a fortified city may be an unknown concept or one that reminds readers of fences around villages. Translators could then have “a city with walls to keep out enemies” or “a city with strong walls to keep people safe.” But since here the focus is not on a fortified city so much as on the fact that God will keep Jeremiah from harm, “[a strong place] safe from attack” might be good.

Since iron and bronze were two of the hardest metals known to people in ancient times, an iron pillar or bronze walls would be objects almost impossible to knock over.

Many translators will find it helpful to turn I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall into a comparison, as Good News Translation and Bible en français courant have done; for example, “I will make you resistant like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a wall of bronze.”

Jeremiah will be resistant against the people and their rulers. It is clear in the next verse that they will fight against him, and Good News Translation found it more natural to translate these two verses together and state the opposition before explaining how Jeremiah would resist it.

Princes is best understood with the meaning “officials” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). “Sons of kings” would be the wrong translation here.

The people of the land is a phrase that frequently refers to the people in general, but some scholars believe that it is here used in the particular sense of the rich and powerful land owners. If this is the case, then Jeremiah’s opponents are defined as the leaders of the entire nation: kings, officials, priests, and the rich and powerful of the nation. But those translations that go beyond a literal rendering of the Hebrew all follow the other alternative: “its common people” (An American Translation), “its people” (New English Bible), “people” (New American Bible), and “the people of Judah” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

They will fight against you is expressed as “will be against you” by Good News Translation; and this is perhaps better, since the leaders will not actually be fighting Jeremiah with fists and swords, although in many languages the expression of the text would be clear enough. “Will oppose you” would also be acceptable.

Prevail has the more specialized meaning of “defeat” (Good News Translation).

For I am with you … to deliver you recalls the promise of verse 8, and it gives the reason why Jeremiah’s enemies will not be able to defeat him.

Says the LORD was first used in 1.8. Probably in this verse it would most naturally come at the end, as in Good News Translation, so not before to deliver.

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 .