The captain of the guard: Although most versions retain the full title, it may be more acceptable either to identify the captain of the guard by name (“Nebuzaradan”) or else to use the pronoun “he” (so Bible en français courant) in a sentence such as “He took Jeremiah aside and said to him….”

Took is probably best understood as in Good News Translation “took aside.”

The LORD your God pronounced this evil against this place: For evil see 1.14. The reference is to the destruction that has come upon Jerusalem and Judah, which is the basis for Good News Translation “The LORD your God threatened this land with destruction” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Bible en français courant has “The Lord your God has predicted a catastrophe such as this for this city.” Another possibility is “The LORD your God declared that this evil would happen to this place.”

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 .