But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior: This may, upon first reading, convey the sense that the LORD is Jeremiah’s enemy. Consequently, Good News Translation has “you, LORD, are on my side.” The Hebrew noun rendered warrior may refer to any strong man. The adjective translated dread may refer to someone who is in authority or someone who is in command of a situation; it is found elsewhere in Jeremiah only in 15.21, where Revised Standard Version renders “ruthless.” New English Bible is similar to Revised Standard Version (“strong and ruthless”), while New American Bible (“a mighty champion”) and New Jerusalem Bible (“a mighty hero”) follow the alternative interpretation of the phrase, as does Good News Translation (“strong and mighty”). Bible en français courant renders this line as “But, Lord, you are strong and you fight for me.” Other ways to say this are “But the LORD is on my side, like a strong and mighty warrior” and “But the LORD is like a strong warrior who fights on my side.”

My persecutors will stumble, they will not overcome me: My persecutors can be rendered “those who want to harm me.” See 15.15. Stumble is the literal meaning of the verb; Good News Translation has “fail,” while Revised English Bible renders these two lines as “my persecutors will stumble and fall powerless.”

They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed can be rendered “Because they cannot succeed [in overcoming me], they will be completely disgraced.” For shamed refer to 2.26. New Jerusalem Bible evidently renders my persecutors … not succeed as “my opponents will stumble, vanquished, confounded by their failure.”

Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten can be translated as “No one will ever forget how they were disgraced,” or it may be expressed more concisely as in Good News Translation “Their disgrace will never be forgotten” or Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Their shame will forever hang on them.” For dishonor see 3.25.

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 .