For Thus says the LORD, see 2.2.

My evil neighbors may give the reader a wrong impression; the reference is to Israel’s evil neighbors. The word neighbors may need to be expanded to “neighboring nations” or “the nations who are close to Israel.”

Touch is here used in a negative sense: “have laid hands on” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “ruined” (Good News Translation).

The heritage which I have given my people Israel to inherit: Heritage is first used in 2.7; it is also found in 3.18; 12.8, 9. Here it is important that translators make it clear that the heritage is the land that the LORD promised to his people. Good News Translation has “the land I gave to my people Israel.” It is also possible to say “the land that I promised my people Israel would be theirs [to possess].”

For Behold see 1.6.

Pluck up is first used in 1.10, where it conveys the notion of destruction. It is commonly translated “uproot,” but if this image would not be easily understood, translators can say something such as “take them away from their land.” Its first occurrence in this verse is negative (Good News Translation “I will take those wicked people away from their countries like an uprooted plant”), although its second occurrence is positive (Good News Translation “and I will rescue Judah from them”).

For house of Judah, see 3.18.

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 .