In this verse the writer of Jeremiah quotes Hananiah directly as he quotes the LORD. In many languages readers will find it easier to follow if the first level of quotation is indirect, as in Good News Translation “told me that the LORD … had said: ‘I have broken….’ ”

The LORD of hosts: See 2.19.

I have broken the yoke: Good News Translation drops the imagery and renders “I have broken the power.” Bible en français courant retains it, but interprets with “I broke the dominion which the king of Babylonia imposed like a yoke.” For yoke see 2.20 and the introduction to chapter 27.

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 .