As elsewhere in this book, Call to me does not mean simply to call out or shout the LORD’s name; rather, the meaning is to call upon him for help (see 29.12). If this is not clear, translators can express it directly; for example, “Call my name asking for help” or “Call to me to help you.”

Most English versions sound as if will answer and will tell are separate actions. However, it is quite possible that will tell defines the content of the LORD’s answer: “I will answer you by telling you….”

Hidden things which you have not known: Hidden is literally “inaccessible” (of a city or fortress). Isa 48.6, which is almost identical with this clause, has another Hebrew word (meaning “hidden” or “guarded”) which differs only in the first consonant. In 15.20 Revised Standard Version translates the adjective used here as “fortified.” In this verse most translators have either “hidden things” or “things you had no way of knowing.”

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 .