Good News Translation combines mount up to heaven with fortify her strong height and translates “Even if Babylon could climb to the sky and build a strong fortress there.” The phrase her strong height is literally “height of her strength,” and probably refers to the city walls. Therefore the first two lines can also be translated “Even if Babylon could climb up to the sky and if she could strengthen her high walls.”

Yet destroyers would come from me upon her is restructured by Good News Translation to “I would still send people to destroy it.” For destroyers see verse 48.

For says the LORD, see 1.8.

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates the entire verse as a single sentence:

• And if Babylon should climb up to the sky, entrench itself in an inaccessible height, I would still call enemies to destroy it!

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 .