To make it clear who is speaking to whom in this verse, Good News Translation has begun the verse with “My people cry out to me.”

The noun iniquities (Good News Translation “sins”) occurs a number of times in Jeremiah; it is first used in 2.22. If it sounds odd to say our iniquities testify against us, translators can say something like “our sins are the evidence of our guilt.”

The imperative verb act is interpreted by Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch to mean “help us.” New International Version has “do something” and Revised English Bible has “take action.”

For thy name’s sake may mean either “for the sake of your honor” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or “for thine own sake” (Moffatt). It is also possible to say “for the sake of your own reputation.” The restructuring of Good News Translation (“as you have promised”) is based upon the assumption that the LORD’s name represents his essential character (as in Moffatt), which allows the context to convey this meaning.

The second for in this verse is a weak transition that is often dropped, as in Good News Translation.

Backslidings is first used in 2.19, where it is translated “apostasy” by Revised Standard Version. Both Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch shift to a verb construction: “We have turned away from you.” Accordingly, many is expressed as “many times” by Good News Translation and “Often” by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch.

Sinned is the most general term for doing something contrary to God’s will. The verb is first used in 2.35. In the present setting our iniquities and we have sinned are parallel in meaning: “our sins … we have sinned” (Good News Translation).

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 .