This is the word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD: Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch transfer this information to the beginning of verse 3, where it fits in more naturally. Verse 3 in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “But Jeremiah received from the Lord the command to send a message to Zedekiah through the men whom he had sent.”

King Zedekiah: See 1.3.

Pashhur the son of Malchiah: This is not the Pashhur of 20.1 (see there). Some languages express the son of Malchiah as “Malchiah was his father.” Similarly, the son of Maaseiah can be “Maaseiah was his father.”

Zephaniah the priest is mentioned also in 29.25, 29; 37.3; 52.24. For priest see 1.1.

The text must be clear: Zedekiah sent two people, Pashhur and Zephaniah. In some languages readers have thought that Pashhur was the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah. Since the names are unfamiliar, these readers mistook Malchiah for a woman.

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 .