And those who escape the sword: There is an apparent contradiction between verse 27, which suggests the Jewish community will be totally wiped out, and this verse, which promises that some will return safely. However, Hebrew is fond of using “all” in a less than inclusive sense for the sake of emphasis, and in fact this verse agrees with verse 14 in referring to some people who escape.

The first half of this verse may be translated with Good News Translation as “But a few of you will escape death and return from Egypt to Judah.” Another way to express it is “Some of you will escape being killed, and will go back to Judah from Egypt. But you will be few in number.”

All the remnant of Judah: See 6.9.

Whose word will stand is an idiomatic expression meaning “whose words will come true.”

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 .