Verse 14 largely restates what is in verse 12. However, in place of the positive expressions there, “they shall fall” and “they shall die,” here the verbs are negative, none … shall escape or survive or return.

Except some fugitives: This shows quite clearly that when Hebrew uses terms such as none or “all,” they are not always absolute in their meaning. But some is clearly meant to be just a small number, “a few” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). Good News Translation renders fugitives as “refugees.” Translators should use a word or expression in their language that refers to those who have fled and escaped.

Good News Translation and a number of other common language translations introduce a new sentence with verse 14; for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has:

• No one will escape or survive. No one will return to Judah even though they want to go and live there again. Only a few will escape and return there.

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 .