Made … a desolation translates a verb and noun that derive from the same Hebrew root as “desolate” in verse 10. The adjective desolate is used next in this verse, followed by another occurrence of the verb made desolate. The repetition may not be as effective in other languages as it is in Hebrew. Translators in many languages will find it helpful to follow the example of Good News Translation and use three different words: “wasteland … desolate … desert.”

Desolate, it mourns to me is taken by Good News Translation with the meaning “it lies desolate before me,” which is essentially the restructuring of New Jerusalem Bible and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch as well. New English Bible effectively translates the first sentence of this verse as “… made it a waste land, waste and waterless, to my sorrow.”

But no man lays it to heart is rendered by New English Bible and Good News Translation as “and no one cares.” Translators could also say “and no one pays any attention.” New International Version, which renders this verse as a future, translates the last two lines as “the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares.”

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 .