Eyes and heart represent a person’s total being.

Dishonest gain translates a noun in Hebrew which has as its basic meaning “something [cut off].” In this sense it occurs in 51.13 (“the thread of your life is cut”). However, the word came to be used also of profit made in an illegal way (Gen 37.26). Interestingly, in colloquial English “your cut” could have precisely this meaning. Some versions have “your profit,” but others have “your illegal profit” or “dishonest profit.” See 6.13 and 8.10, where Revised Standard Version has “unjust gain.”

For the first two lines, Bible en français courant has “But you’re interested only in what brings you profit” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “But you see only what’s to your own advantage and you think of nothing else.”

Shedding innocent blood: See 7.6; 22.3; 26.15.

Oppression occurs elsewhere only in 6.6. In many languages it is necessary to indicate who the oppression is directed against, as in “oppressing people” or “treating people cruelly.”

The noun translated violence is found only here in the Old Testament. As with oppression, translators may have to supply some victim of violence, perhaps “treating people violently” or, in combination with oppression, “using force to oppress people.” Good News Translation “violently oppress your people” is also a good model.

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 .