The cities: This is the rendering of most translations, though New International Version transliterates the Hebrew as “Kerioth,” the name of a city.

The strongholds: Used elsewhere in Jeremiah only in 51.30, the word means a place difficult to access (see 1Sam 23.14).

The passives shall be taken and seized may need to be made into active constructions, as in “The enemy will capture the cities and the fortresses.”

The heart of the warriors … like the heart of a woman in her pangs: The fear experienced by Moab’s soldiers is compared to that of a woman in labor. Good News Translation is a good model: “On that day Moab’s soldiers will be as frightened as a woman in labor.”

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 .