Therefore hear the plan … and the purposes … against the inhabitants of Teman: The plan and the purposes made may be taken as meaning the same and rendered as verbs: “So then listen to what the LORD plans to do to the Edomites and the people of the city of Teman.” In fact, the city of Teman is here used to represent the nation itself.

Even (also surely) is more literally “if not,” a formula used to introduce a strong oath. New Revised Standard Version renders it “Surely,” but others retain “Even.”

The little ones of the flock is taken by Good News Translation to mean “the children” and by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch to mean “the children and feeble ones.”

Their fold shall be appalled at their fate: Their fold is taken by Good News Translation as an inclusive reference to all other people of Edom: “everyone will be horrified.” It is possible, however, to take the word rendered appalled by Revised Standard Version to mean “desolate” and so render “their land will be empty because of what has happened to the sheep.” What is important in this verse is to recognize that although flock and fold are terms relating to sheep, here they are probably being used metaphorically for the people of Edom. Unless translators believe their readers will readily grasp this, they should follow the example of Good News Translation and drop the images.

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 .