For kings to enter by the gates of this city carries the idea that there will always be kings ruling Jerusalem; that is, the reference is more to the fact there will be kings to come and go than to entries by kings coming to rule. Translators can have “Then there will be kings to pass through the city’s gates.”

Kings who sit on the throne of David: As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, the Hebrew has “kings and princes” instead of only kings (see Good News Translation). It may be that “and princes” represents an accidental copying of and their princes from the latter part of this verse. On the other hand, since princes did not sit on the throne of David, it was probably intentionally omitted from the Hebrew text to conform to actual practice. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends the inclusion of the phrase. As elsewhere, princes is better translated “officials” or “leaders” (see 1.18). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “high officials.” Who sit on the throne of David is rendered “have the same royal power that David had” by Good News Translation. The basis for this restructuring is the recognition that throne symbolizes the king’s royal authority and power. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “future kings from the family of David.” It is also possible to say “kings in the same tradition as David.” If translators follow the Hebrew, they can say here “kings who have the same royal power as David, and their officials.”

Chariots (see 4.13) and horses were symbols of wealth and royal power. If chariots are not known, translators can have “vehicles pulled by horses” or “carts for war pulled by horses.”

Note that Good News Translation collapses the second occurrence of princes into the pronoun “they,” which also refers to the kings: “they will ride in chariots and on horses.”

For the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, see 4.3.

Most translators restructure this verse to make it easier to read; for example:

• [If they do that, then] there will always be kings in the line of David and their officials to pass through the city’s gates. The kings and their officials will be riding in chariots or riding horses, and will be accompanied by the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. There will always be people living here.

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 .