Thus the LORD said to me: This repeats information from the end of the previous verse, and may be omitted (see Good News Translation).

Thongs and yoke-bars: The thongs (leather straps) were used for tying the wooden crossbars together. As for yoke-bars, see the discussion on “yoke” under the section heading. Here translators can have something like “wooden bars for an ox [or, animal] so it can pull a cart.” For an illustration of a yoke, see 2.20.

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 .