Took Jeremiah and cast him: Cast should not be translated as “threw,” because the text goes on to say letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Translators can either combine the two expressions as in Good News Translation, or make a whole sentence such as “put him into a cistern by letting him down with ropes.”

The cistern of Malchiah: For the possible identification of this cistern with “the dungeon cells” (37.16), see the introductory comments to this chapter. It is not certain whether this Malchiah is the same one mentioned in 21.1; 38.1. In the eastern Mediterranean region, both in ancient times and modern, water was always in short supply and cisterns were dug where it might be stored. Where cisterns are not known, translators can use an expression such as “pit for storing water.” The rendering “well” (Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation, Jerusalem Bible) can be misleading, since it may suggest that the hole in the ground has its own source of water; translators should think carefully about the terms available to them before choosing an equivalent for cistern here (see 2.13).

Malchiah, the king’s son is rendered “Prince Malchiah” by Good News Translation. Some translators will use a separate sentence for this information, as in “Malchiah was the king’s son.” But others will restructure the verse slightly to “the cistern that was owned by the king’s son Malchiah.”

The court of the guard; that is, “the palace courtyard” (Good News Translation) or “the court of the guardhouse.” See 32.2.

Letting Jeremiah down by ropes may have to be expanded, as in “They put ropes around Jeremiah and lowered him [into the cistern].” If it is necessary to indicate how the ropes were used to lower Jeremiah into the cistern, the best approach would be to follow the information of verse 12, where the picture given is that a rope was placed around Jeremiah and under his arms.

Only mire: Evidently all the water except that which had mingled with the dirt at the bottom to make mud had been taken from the cistern. It was into this mire (or, “mud”) that Jeremiah was let down with ropes.

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 .