This verse answers the question raised in verse 7, repeating the same words used there. Egypt is pictured as a man who says to himself that he will rise up and conquer the world. And so the Egyptian forces are commanded (verse 9) to attack the surrounding nations.

Egypt: “It is Egypt” (Good News Translation) is the appropriate form for the answer in English. In other languages the appropriate form may be different; for example, “This one is Egypt” or “Only Egypt.”

He said: In some languages it may be more natural to say “The people of Egypt said, ‘We will….’ ”

For the whole verse, some translators can say, for example:

• It is Egypt who rises like the Nile [River], like a river flooding its banks. It is Egypt who said, “I will rise and cover the earth. I will destroy cities and the people who live in them.”

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 .