Is not my word like fire … like a hammer…?: This verse presents a further proof of the genuine prophetic message. For the LORD’s word like fire, see 5.14. In 50.23 and 51.20 Babylonia is referred to as the LORD’s hammer, though nowhere else in the book is his word spoken of in these terms.

The rendering of Revised English Bible for the first clause (“Do not my words scorch like fire?”) is based upon a conjecture. However, in some languages it may be necessary to indicate the manner in which the LORD’s words are like fire, in which case this would be a legitimate translation. Similarly, it may be helpful to show in what way the LORD’s word is like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces, as for example in “powerful like a hammer that can break a rock into pieces.”

Good News Translation and Bible en français courant transform the negative rhetorical question into a strong affirmative statement.

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 .