Translation commentary on Jeremiah 25:10

I will banish from means the same as “I will make to cease from” in 7.34.

Here the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp are added to the other indicators of a happy community life. The millstones were used to grind flour for making the daily supply of bread, and were commonly used in the morning. Translators may have to use a descriptive phrase such as “no one will be grinding the grain [between stones] to make flour” or “you won’t hear any sounds of people making bread.” As for the light of the lamp, translators can say something like “no one will be there to light lamps in the evening.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders this part of the verse “The noise of handmills in the morning will be silenced, and in the evening lamps will no longer burn in the houses.” The meaning, of course, is that the daily activities of life will be brought to an end.

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 .

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