Princes is better rendered “officials.” See 1.18.

Let this man be put to death is a very weak expression in English. New American Bible and Revised English Bible have “This man ought to be put to death” and Good News Translation “This man must be put to death.” As an active expression, translators may say, for example, “this man must die!” (New Living Translation) or “You should put Jeremiah to death” (Contemporary English Version).

Weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city: This is an instance in which a body part (the hands) symbolizes the totality of the person and at the same time represents a state of thinking or feeling. For that reason Good News Translation translates “making the soldiers in the city lose their courage.” Revised English Bible has “demoralizing the soldiers left in the city” and New Jerusalem Bible “unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city.” New Revised Standard Version and New International Version have “discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city.”

By speaking such words to them is not as natural in English as “by saying such things to them.” Good News Translation places this information immediately following the demand for Jeremiah to be put to death.

The welfare … their harm: Good News Translation shifts from the noun constructions of the Hebrew to verb phrases, “to help … to hurt them.” Several translations maintain the noun structure, and use “welfare … ruin” (New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, New American Bible). For welfare see 29.7; for harm see 29.11, where Revised Standard Version has “evil.”

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 .