Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes: Good News Translation “so that the ropes wouldn’t hurt me” and New Jerusalem Bible (followed by New International Version) “to pad the ropes” include the reason for Ebedmelech’s instructions to Jeremiah.

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 .