Verse 21 begins with Therefore thus says the LORD and verse 22 opens with “therefore thus says the LORD of hosts.” Because of this Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch places verses 21-22 together and translates the clause only once. Good News Translation handles the matter in a slightly different way. Since the LORD does not actually speak until verse 22, Good News Translation omits Therefore thus says the LORD from verse 21 and begins verse 22 with “So the LORD Almighty said….” Verse 21 could also be restructured like this: “The people of Anathoth want me dead, and have said, ‘Don’t speak any more in the name of the LORD or we will kill you.’ Therefore this is what the LORD says about them.”

For thus says the LORD, see 2.2.

Men of Anathoth: See 1.1 for Anathoth. The text has men, but it would be perfectly acceptable to say “people” since there is no reason to believe that it was only the men who wanted to kill Jeremiah.

Who seek your life is more literally “who seek your soul,” but “soul” is here equivalent to “life” or “yourself.” Translators usually say something like “who want to have you killed” or “who want to kill you.”

Prophesy in the name of the LORD means “speak in the name of the LORD” or “speak with the LORD’s authority.” We may even translate Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD as “Do not claim to speak with the LORD’s authority.”

You will die by our hand is a Hebrew way of saying “we will kill you.”

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 .