My strength may need to be restructured after the fashion of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch: “you give me strength.” Good News Translation is similar, though it reverses the order of strength and stronghold: “you are the one who protects me and gives me strength.” The noun rendered stronghold occurs only here in the book of Jeremiah; in the Old Testament it is most frequently used of a place of protection such as a fortress.

The Hebrew word for refuge is used only seven other times in the Hebrew Old Testament, including two other places in Jeremiah (25.35; 46.5, where Revised Standard Version has “in haste”). Trouble is first used in 4.31, where it is rendered “anguish.” Good News Translation renders my refuge in the day of trouble as “you help me in times of trouble,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “I can run to you in time of danger.” It can also be expressed as “you are the one who protects me in times of trouble.”

To thee shall the nations come is not natural English word order; Good News Translation has “Nations will come to you.” However, the Hebrew text does emphasize to thee, and translators may be able to retain this with a rendering such as “You are the one the nations come to,” or they may place this emphasis earlier in the verse, as in Good News Translation (“you are the one”).

The expression from the ends of the earth is an idiom that means “from everywhere on earth.” Translators should use whatever the normal expression is in their language to convey this meaning.

Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies: Fathers (see 2.5) is once again used in the sense of “ancestors” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). In this line inherited might better be expressed as “possessed” (New International Version), or be understood as part of a phrase with Our fathers, such as “Our traditional religion” (Bible en français courant). Lies is best understood in the sense of “false gods” (Good News Translation, New International Version). This whole line is translated by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch as “The gods of our ancestors are nothing but frauds.”

Worthless things: See the comment at 2.5. Translators should also see the discussion of “other gods” at 1.16.

In which there is no profit: See the comment at 2.8.

These last two lines may be rendered “Our ancestors possessed only false gods, worthless idols that could do nothing for them” or “Our traditional religion [or, way of worshiping God] was a lie. We worshiped worthless things that could do nothing for us.”

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 .