The interpretation of verse 13 is difficult because in Hebrew the speaker is not clearly identified. If the LORD (or Jeremiah) is viewed as the speaker, then the verse is a judgment against the false prophets whose message is reflected in verse 12. However, on the basis of verse 11, it is more natural to assume that the people of Israel and Judah are the speakers. It will probably be helpful for readers to begin the verse much as in Good News Translation: “They have said” or “The people say.”

The interpretation of the verse is further complicated by the ambiguous statement Thus shall it be done to them! These words are not found in the Septuagint, and some translations omit them (Revised English Bible, Moffatt). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project is of the opinion that the words should be retained, but gives no hint regarding what the pronouns it and them refer to. There are two possibilities: (1) It refers to the judgment of verse 12, and them to the prophets who have spoken these words. According to this interpretation, the people of Israel and Judah are disclaiming the truth of the prophetic message, and are asking that the judgment proclaimed by the prophets would fall upon the prophets themselves. This interpretation is followed by New American Bible (“May their threats be carried out against themselves!”), New International Version (“so let what they say be done to them”), An American Translation (“As they have spoken to us, So let it be done to them!”), and New Jerusalem Bible (“let those very things happen to them!”). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch also follows this interpretation: “What they have threatened, they themselves will experience….” (2) It may refer to the fiery judgment of verse 14 and them to the people of Israel and Judah who reject it. This interpretation is followed by Bright. Neither interpretation is without its difficulties, though the first solution would seem to require less adjustments to the Hebrew text.

New Revised Standard Version renders The prophets will become wind as “The prophets are nothing but wind,” which is similar to Revised English Bible “The prophets will prove mere wind.” Since in Hebrew the same word may mean either wind or spirit, it is assumed by most scholars that a play on words is intended by the statement The prophets will become wind. Although the prophets claim inspiration by God’s spirit, the people are saying they are “mere wind” (Revised English Bible). Good News Translation interprets the metaphor a little differently. “Windbags” means they speak nothing but meaningless words. Bassa in Liberia is similar with “The prophets speak empty words like a wind that comes.”

The word is not in them is an obvious reference to God’s word: “they have no message from the LORD” (Good News Translation) and “God has not spoken to them” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

In the second part of verse 14 it becomes clear that the LORD is speaking to Jeremiah, which is why a number of translations begin the verse with something like “Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, said to me [or, to Jeremiah].”

The God of hosts: The more usual form for God of hosts is “the LORD of hosts.” See 2.19.

“You” in the Hebrew text has been altered to read they by Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, and Bright. New International Version has “the people,” which may either represent this interpretation or reflect a translational adjustment based upon the Hebrew. On the assumption that “you” in Hebrew refers to the people of Israel and Judah, both Good News Translation (“these people”) and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“the people of Judah”) shift to a more natural third person reference in English. This is a legitimate shift, since biblical Hebrew frequently alternates between a second person pronoun (“you”) and a third person pronoun (“he/she/they”) when referring to the same person or persons. See verses 19, 31.

Revised English Bible renders Because they have spoken this word as “because they talk in this way.”

Notice that many translations find it helpful to restructure the opening of this verse somewhat: “Therefore, because they have said this, the LORD God Almighty said to me.”

For behold see 1.6.

In place of I am making my words in your mouth a fire, it may be more natural to follow the restructuring of Good News Translation: “I will make my words like a fire in your mouth.”

And this people wood may also be made into a comparison, “The people will be like wood” (Good News Translation). The two lines can flow quite smoothly: “I will make my words in your mouth like a fire that will burn up the people like firewood.”

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 .