An ass (Good News Translation “donkey”) was considered an “unclean” animal by the Israelites (Lev 11.1-8; Deut 14.3-8). When a donkey died, its corpse was simply dragged outside the city and left for wild animals and birds to eat. Thus this verse is a bitter and sarcastic commentary on the fate of Jehoiakim.

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 .