It is false: Good News Translation has “That’s not so!” and New International Version “That’s not true!” We may also render “You’re wrong,” though to translate “That’s a lie” probably goes beyond Jeremiah’s meaning.

Princes refers to “officials” (see 1.18); they are probably the same people called “servants” in verse 2.

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 .