All the Jews: These are the same people mentioned in verse 11, that is, those in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and in other countries. For this reason, Good News Translation renders it with the pronoun “they.”

Had been driven means that these Jews had fled because of the warfare in their country (see 8.3). Good News Translation, New International Version, and Revised English Bible have “scattered,” which is probably a better rendering.

Wine and summer fruits: See verse 10.

Good News Translation breaks the long sentence of verses 11 and 12 into three sentences, which may make the passage more readable in other languages as well. However, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch economizes by placing verses 11-12 together:

• Many people from Judah had fled to Moab, Ammon, Edom, or other countries. But when they learned that the Babylonian king had allowed the rest of the people in Judah to return and had named Gedaliah governor, they also returned to Judah and reported to Gedaliah in Mizpah. The people harvested large amounts of wine and fruit.

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 .