Have grown … sleek (so most English translations) translates a Hebrew verb of doubtful meaning. The Septuagint omits the verb, and some scholars feel that it was not an original part of the text. However, it is found in the Hebrew manuscripts and should be represented in translation. Good News Translation translates fat and sleek as “fat and well fed,” while Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has the equivalent of “big and fat.” This line is a continuation of the thought at the end of verse 27. Translators may begin a new sentence or continue the previous one, depending on which is more natural in their language.
Wickedness is used first in 1.16. It is a broad term, covering any area of moral evil. They know no bounds in deeds of wickedness is translated “There is no limit to their evil deeds” by Good News Translation. We may also translate “They never stop doing evil things” or “They do all kinds of evil things.” However, there is the possibility that the verb translated know no bounds may have a meaning like “overlook,” “pass over,” or “excuse” (see Amos 7.8; 8.2; Micah 7.18; Pro 19.11). This is the interpretation rendered in Bright (“they wink at evil”) and Revised English Bible (“they turn a blind eye to wickedness”), but other translations do not reflect this same interpretation.
They judge not with justice …: The limits to which these people have allowed their evil to go are reflected in what follows. In the courts of justice they take advantage of “orphans” and others who cannot defend themselves. This is an extremely strong indictment because in ancient Israel it was the responsibility of the nation’s leaders to protect those who could not protect themselves. Fatherless refers to orphans, those who have lost their parents. Good News Translation makes it clear that those who are needy are the “oppressed.” The last three lines of the verse are translated as follows by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch: “With them justice is in sorry hands: they do not stand up for orphans, and they do not help the poor to get what is rightfully theirs.” Other renderings are “In the courts they do not stand up for the rights of the orphans, nor help the poor receive what they should” and “They do not make sure that in the courts the orphans are treated justly, and nor do they protect the rights of the poor.”
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 .