Three or four columns: A scroll could be unrolled so as to expose several columns of text at a time. Translators can say something like “three or four rows of writing” or “three or four sections of the writing.”

The king: In Hebrew the subject is the third person pronoun suffix on the verb, equivalent to “he.” However, if translated literally, readers would incorrectly assume “he” to be Jehudi.

Penknife: The Hebrew word may be used of either a knife (for cutting hair, Num 6.5) or a razor (for shaving, Num 8.7). Here Revised Standard Version and others take it to be the penknife of a scribe, that is, a small knife used to sharpen a pen. Translators can say, for example, “a small knife” (Good News Translation) or “a scribe’s knife” (New Jerusalem Bible).

Into the fire in the brazier … in the fire that was in the brazier: Good News Translation avoids this unnecessary repetition by translating “into the fire.”

Until the entire scroll was consumed: By this action King Jehoiakim thought he was destroying the effect of Jeremiah’s message.

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 .