See (so also New International Version) is translated “Look” by New Jerusalem Bible; in function this word is an attention-getter, similar to “Behold” in verse 9, and it is left out as unnecessary by a number of translations (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New English Bible, An American Translation [An American Translation]).
The Hebrew verb translated set … over is translated “made … overseer” by Revised Standard Version in Gen 39.4. That is also the rendering given the text by Bright (Anchor Bible) here; both Good News Translation and New English Bible have “give … authority over.” In Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch the first part of verse 10 is rendered “From today on you have power over people and kingdoms.” New International Version and Bible en français courant interpret the word to mean “appoint” or “entrust” with similar meaning to the word in verse 5. So New International Version has “today I appoint you over nations…” and Bible en français courant “today I entrust [or, assign] you with a task that concerns nations….”
Kingdoms are, of course, themselves nations with kings. The usage of two or more words with essentially the same meaning is a typical feature of the Hebrew language. Therefore, it is not really necessary to attempt to distinguish between these two terms, particularly if that would result in an awkward sentence. “Countries and chiefdoms” might be tried, but the function of the combination is perhaps here intended to be inclusive: “all peoples,” “all nations,” or “all countries.”
The way in which Jeremiah’s authority over nations and kingdoms would reveal itself is defined by six verbs, four of which are negative (pluck up … break down … destroy … overthrow) and two of which are positive (build … plant). This reflects Jeremiah’s preaching, the major portion of which concerns God’s judgment upon the people because of their sin.
The portrayal of Jeremiah’s prophetic task in six verbs is not intended to describe events in sequence, as though Jeremiah’s message of judgment (the first four verbs) would then be followed by that of salvation (the last two verbs). Throughout the course of his ministry Jeremiah emphasized both aspects, though his proclamation was weighted in the direction of judgment. Some scholars assume that the phrase to destroy and to overthrow was not an original part of the text. They believe it was brought in from such passages as 18.7; 24.6; 31.28. If these two verbs were omitted, then a construction would result in which pluck up would balance with plant and break down would balance with build. Although this suggestion is attractive, it is without textual support, and so cannot be followed in translation.
The six verbs that Jeremiah uses are taken from everyday life in his part of the world. Pluck up (Good News Translation “uproot”) and plant come from agricultural life, and a play on words is probably intended between the words pluck up and break down, which sound very much alike in Hebrew. Break down is used of houses in 33.4 and of the walls of Jerusalem in 39.8 and 52.14. Israel and Judah, together with their people and animals, are the object of this verb in 31.28, while in 18.7 it has the same objects as it does here.
The verb destroy appears also in 18.7 and 31.28. In 46.8 it is used of cities and their inhabitants and in 49.38 of a king and his princes. In 25.10, where its objects are “voice,” “grinding,” and “light,” Revised Standard Version translates the verb as “banish.”
Overthrow also is used together with break down and destroy in 31.28, while in three other passages it is used in parallel to pluck up (24.6, where Revised Standard Version translates it “uproot”; 42.10; 45.4). Thus all four of these verbs convey essentially the same meaning, and they were perhaps used by Jeremiah with no real distinction between them.
Pluck up is often translated with a word that means to pull up by the roots. Generally it is not necessary to make this a complete simile, as in “pull them up by their roots as if they were a plant” or “pull them up like a plant by its roots”; but this can be done if translators feel that otherwise readers would not follow the meaning. Similarly, it is sometimes helpful to render break down with “tear them down like a building” or “destroy them like tearing down a building.” And likewise with the other verbs. The problem with such comparisons is that some of the impact of the sharp poetic imagery is lost. But in languages where some object of these verbs is needed, translators can say “I have given you authority today over all countries, so that you will uproot them or break them down, destroy them or demolish them, build them up or make them grow like plants.”
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 .