In verses 20-22 the LORD affirms that his covenant with David and the priests of the tribe of Levi is as firm as the laws of nature, which he controls.

Thus says the LORD: See 2.2.

If you can: In other languages this may require another form, such as “If a person can” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). This is a rhetorical device; obviously no one can change day and night occurring. Translators can therefore say “Just as no one can break my covenant … 21 in the same way, no one can break my covenant with my servant David.” Good News Translation reverses the order of the clauses in this verse and translates the “if” clause as “and that covenant can never be broken.” Moreover, Good News Translation puts a full stop at the end of verse 20.

Covenant: See 31.31. To speak of a covenant with day and night is, of course, figurative language, since the LORD would not normally speak of making a covenant with nonhumans. Bible en français courant has translated “Can you break the obligation that I have imposed on day and night, and stop them from their normal cycle?”

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 .