Set up a standard on the earth: See verse 12.

Blow the trumpet: This was also a signal to attack. Translators may need to say “Blow the trumpet so the nations will know to attack.”

Prepare the nations for war: The nations are ordered to prepare for war, and this order leads to a call for three groups to begin the attack. We may assume that this command is addressed to an unnamed messenger, which for some translators would lead to a rendering like “Tell the nations to get ready for war against….”

Against her: Her is Babylonia.

As elsewhere, summon against means to “call to attack.”

Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz were territories north of Babylonia.

Marshal: This word, which comes from Akkadian meaning “tablet writer,” evidently refers to a high military official (Good News Translation “officer”). Its only other occurrence is in Nahum 3.17, where it is also connected with locusts. The marshal will be appointed against her, that is, “will be appointed to lead the attack against Babylonia.”

Bring up horses like bristling locusts: See verse 14. Although the exact meaning of the word rendered bristling locusts is uncertain, it probably has to do with a multitude of locusts. Certainly locusts aren’t normally thought of as bristling. Horses, especially when outfitted for battle, had the appearance of “a swarm of locusts” (Good News Translation). Revised English Bible is probably correct: “bring up horses like a dark swarm of locusts.” New Living Translation expresses the sense of this line without using the image of locusts: “bring a multitude of horses.”

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 .