In some languages it will be natural to start a new sentence here; for example, “They are that way because…” or “That happened because….”

The wickedness which they committed is explained by what follows in the verse: provoking me to anger … burn incense and serve other gods. For burn incense and other gods, see 1.16. The first half of the verse can be restructured as “because their people did such evil that it made me angry. They offered sacrifices to worship other gods….”

Knew not: As Good News Translation makes clear, these were foreign gods that the Israelites had no previous knowledge or experience of (see 7.9). Fathers refers to “ancestors” (see 2.5). For the last clause translators can say, for example, “neither they nor you nor your ancestors were familiar with them.”

In some languages it may be necessary to make the translation of the verse follow the order of events as they happen; for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has:

• This disaster came to your people because of their evil behavior; they have worshiped foreign gods, which they have previously known nothing about, nor have their ancestors. They have brought them offerings and made me angry.

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 .