In the future it will no longer be necessary for someone to teach God’s people his will, because he will implant his will within them and forgive their sins.

Each man … his neighbor … his brother: Hebrew normally uses masculine nouns and pronouns for references to people in general, but other languages will be quite different. For example, some will have “people … their neighbors [or, each other] and their friends” or “no one … others.” For neighbor and brother, see 9.4.

And no longer shall each man teach may be misunderstood, suggesting that people fail to teach others about the LORD. Good News Translation resolves this by translating “None of them will have to teach.” Compare what is said in 9.24; 24.7.

Know the LORD: For Know see 1.5. Here, with the people as subject, Know the LORD means to be in a close relationship to the LORD. Translators should avoid a word for Know which carries only the meaning of knowing who someone is or being acquainted with someone. If “Know the LORD” alone will be misunderstood, translators can say “Know the LORD closely” or “Know [him] as LORD.”

From the least of them to the greatest: See 6.13.

Says the LORD: See 1.8. Good News Translation makes this the conclusion of the verse.

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more: They will know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive them their sins…. Good News Translation does not express this relationship, but most versions do, using “because” or “since.” Iniquity is rendered “guilt” in 2.22 (see there); it is here used in parallel with sin (see 5.25), as forgive is used in parallel with remember … no more. Most versions try to retain the parallelism with two different expressions. New Jerusalem Bible, for example, has “since I shall forgive their guilt and never more call their sin to mind.”

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 .