As previously indicated, a number of scholars believe that this verse is out of place, even though there is no textual basis for its removal.
Mourn (New Jerusalem Bible “be in mourning”) may be translated in a nonfigurative sense as “be dry” (Good News Translation) or “lie parched” (Revised English Bible). This usage has the advantage of being parallel with the verb wither in the next line.
The question How long … wither? is not looking for an answer of a certain amount of time. It has the effect of asking the LORD why he isn’t punishing the people whose wickedness is causing the land to dry up. Translators can say something like “LORD, the land is dry and the grass has withered because of the wickedness of these people. When will you put an end to this [or, Surely you will put an end to this]?”
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it explains the basis for the observation that the beasts and the birds are swept away as well the fact that the fields have dried up. In its meaning it relates to both statements but it can be tied grammatically to whichever one translators find easiest to express. That is why Good News Translation inverts the order of the two lines. Swept away is better expressed as “have perished” or “died.”
Because men said: Because is parallel with For two lines earlier. Good News Translation therefore finds it more natural in English to use “because” only once in the sentence. Men is to be equated with those who dwell in it.
He will not see our latter end is ambiguous both in terms of the construction will not see our latter end, and of the subject, whether He refers to God or Jeremiah. Thus several translations have the equivalent of “God doesn’t see what we are doing” (Good News Translation), which represents the Septuagint text. Jerusalem Bible and Revised English Bible have essentially this same rendering with a footnote, whereas Moffatt and An American Translation do not provide a note for their readers. Luther 1984 (“He does not know how it’s going to turn out with us”) and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“What he says never happens”) each make sense out of the Hebrew text, and each apparently assumes that Jeremiah is the subject. Translators may follow either interpretation, but in the context, to understand God as the subject seems best.
Our latter end has been understood by some translators to mean “what we are doing” (Good News Translation), but by others as “how we end up finally.” In either case the people are showing contempt toward God and his ability to guide their lives.
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 .