If I tell you, will you not be sure to put me to death?: This is a difficult construction, because it is both rhetorical and negative. Good News Translation shifts away from both the rhetorical and negative forms, to translate “If I tell you the truth, you will put me to death.” In many languages, as in English, the use of such an emphatic statement may be effective. But a question is sometimes effective, too. Translators can say, for example, “If I tell you the truth, you’ll have me put to death, won’t you?” or “If I tell you the truth, what will you do? You’ll kill me [won’t you?].”

Give you counsel is rendered “give you advice” by Good News Translation, but an even simpler expression would be “tell you what to do” or “… what you should do.”

As seen in Good News Translation, listen to me means “pay attention.” Or translators can even say “do what I advise.”

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 .