And that the prophet after giving them the law: And that indicates that what follows is something else “One finds in the records,” and translators may make this clear by saying “We also know from the records that.” Good News Bible interprets after giving them the law to mean that Jeremiah taught the people the Torah, the Law of Moses. In this context it sounds more like he actually gave them a physical copy or copies of the books of Torah. When they went into exile, the prophet made sure that they had the Torah available for study, rather than simply teaching them the Torah, as Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version seem to indicate. Translators should make this clear; for example, giving them the law may be rendered “he gave them [or, these Jews] a copy of the Law [or, God’s Law].”

Instructed those who were being deported not to forget the commandments of the Lord: Translators do not need to repeat those who were being deported, since it already occurs in the previous verse. Good News Bible uses the pronoun “them” with no loss of clarity. Instructed is not quite the right choice of words here. The people already know they are not to forget the commandments of the Lord. Jeremiah is urging them not to forget. An alternative model for this clause is “told them emphatically that they must never forget the Lord’s commandments [or, always keep the Lord’s commandments].” Good News Bible helpfully adds “in the land of their exile,” and Contemporary English Version is similar with “after they arrived in Persia.” So another possible model here is “told them emphatically that they must never forget the Lord’s commandments after they arrived in the land of their exile [or, in the land of Persia].”

Nor to be led astray in their thoughts upon seeing the gold and silver statues and their adornment: Nor to be led astray in their thoughts may be rendered “not to be deceived” (Good News Bible), “not to be tricked” (Contemporary English Version), or even “not to let their enemies trick them.” The gold and silver statues refers to idols of the gods in Babylonia, where the Jews were taken into exile. The idols were plated with gold or silver, not made completely of these metals. The Babylonians often dressed the images of their gods and put necklaces and other ornaments on them. This is what their adornment refers to. Jeremiah cautioned the people not to be so awed by the appearance of these idols that they were led astray in their thoughts, that is, began to worship them rather than their own God. The Letter of Jeremiah is devoted to this idea. An alternative model for this final clause is “He also warned them not to let their enemies trick them into worshiping the gold and silver idols that were decorated.”

Here is a model for the whole verse:

• We also know that Jeremiah gave them [or, the Jews] a copy of the Law [or, God’s Law], and told them emphatically that they must never forget [or, always keep] the Lord’s commandments after they arrived in the land of their exile [or, the land of Persia]. He also warned them not to let their enemies trick them into worshiping the gold and silver idols that were adorned.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.