Do not pray: This is the third time Jeremiah is forbidden to pray for the people (see also 7.16; 11.14).

Do not pray for the welfare of this people is understood by Good News Translation to mean “Do not ask me to help these people.” Other translations, for example Revised English Bible and New International Version, have “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is even stronger: “Do not pray for these people! Do not ask me to bring their troubles to an end!”

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 .