But we did not obey thy voice, to serve the king of Babylon: See the comments on verse 22, where the wording is similar.

Thou hast confirmed thy words: See the comments on verse 1 for this expression.

Which thou didst speak by thy servants the prophets: Compare the wording of this clause with verse 20b, and see the comments there. Contemporary English Version connects this clause neatly with the previous one by saying “So you have done everything you threatened to do, just as your prophets warned.”

The bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers would be brought out of their graves: The threat referred to here is in Jer 8.1. In Greek graves is literally “place” (Revised Standard Version footnote), which of course means “graves” or “tombs” (Good News Translation) in this context. Since dead bodies were generally laid to rest in caves or openings made in rocky places, “tombs” is probably better since it does not refer primarily to a hole in the ground, as does “graves.” New Revised Standard Version has moved away from graves to “resting place,” which is good. “Burial place” would also be satisfactory. In languages that do not have the passive voice, we may restructure this clause as “our enemies would take the bones of our kings and ancestors out of their tombs.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.