Like keepers of a field are they against her round about is a fairly literal and meaningless translation of the Hebrew. The writer is comparing the tents of the enemy which are now placed around the city of Jerusalem with temporary shelters used by persons guarding a field during harvest season. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “The enemies surround Judah and Jerusalem like men who are guarding a field.”

Because she has rebelled against me is altered into a third person form for the LORD by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and translated as a separate sentence: “The Lord sent them because this people rebelled against him.” Rebelled is used again at 5.23, where Revised Standard Version has “rebellious”; though it is a different verb from that used in 2.8, 29; 3.13, the meaning is the same.

Says the LORD (see 1.8) is translated “The LORD has spoken” by 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 .