Bring a drought upon her waters, that they may be dried up!: In Hebrew the word drought sounds like the word “sword” of verses 35-37. Although there is evidently a play on words in Hebrew, it is impossible to carry this over in most languages. The city of Babylon, situated on the Euphrates River, was famous for its never-ending source of water. Translators can say “May her rivers dry up” or, as one translation has it, “Let there be a drought in the land so that her rivers all dry up.”

Images translates the same word rendered “graven images” in 8.19 (see there); elsewhere in Jeremiah the word is found only in 51.47, 52.

They are mad over idols: Idols translates a word found only here in Jeremiah. Elsewhere in the Old Testament the word has the meaning of “terror” or “horror.” See, for example, Gen 15.12 (Revised Standard Version “dread”); Exo 23.27. In the present context it is used to describe the grotesque and horrible objects used by the Babylonians to represent their gods. Translators can say, for example, “horrible idols.” Good News Translation combines the two words images and idols and renders “terrifying idols.” Revised English Bible makes a slight alteration in the vowels of they are mad in the Hebrew text and renders “that glories in its dreaded gods.” However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project proposes the rendering represented by Revised Standard Version and suggests “and their Terrors make them delirious.” New Jerusalem Bible translates the last line of this verse as “and they are mad about those bogeys of theirs!”

In addition to the examples above, the last two lines can be rendered “For the country is full of images of gods; the people have been made fools by these horrible idols.”

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 .