There are many verses in Jeremiah where it is difficult, if not impossible, to define with precision who the speaker may be. Such is the case with this verse. In Good News Translation it is Jeremiah who speaks, whereas Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch defines the speaker as the LORD. Fortunately, the end result is the same here, and translators may follow either pattern without undue concern.
As a result of the people’s rebellion against the LORD, wild animals will be turned against them (compare 2.15; 4.7). During biblical times the lion was a familiar animal in the Eastern Mediterranean region, though today lions no longer inhabit that area. The singular (a lion) is best taken in a collective sense: “lions” (Good News Translation). In 4.7 the lions were said to come from their “thicket” (Revised Standard Version) or “hiding place” (Good News Translation), though in the present passage they are said to come from the forest. In biblical times much of the territory of Israel was covered with thick forests, but for the most part these too have been destroyed.
In the previous occurrences of the lion in Jeremiah (2.15 and 4.7), it stood for invaders, but here it could be understood either literally or figuratively. Therefore translators should retain lion.
Shall slay (Good News Translation “will kill”) comes from a verb that more literally means “strike down” (see Revised English Bible), as in verse 3, but it may also have the more precise meaning represented by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. New Jerusalem Bible renders “will slaughter.”
This is the only place in the book of Jeremiah where a wolf is mentioned; it should also be understood in a collective sense, “wolves” (Good News Translation). If this animal is not known, translators may have to say “ferocious animals like large dogs,” possibly even adding “called wolves.” The desert is first mentioned in 2.6, where it is rendered “wilderness.”
A leopard is mentioned only twice in Jeremiah, here and in 13.23. Again, where leopards are unknown, translators may have to use an expression like “dangerous animals like lions [or, like large wildcats].” But since all three animals mentioned in this verse probably represent invaders or attackers, translators should not be too concerned about identifying each of them precisely, particularly if the result is to place too much emphasis on their exact description instead of on the fact that the LORD is sending something or someone to attack Israel. It doesn’t matter that the leopard has spots, for example, only that it is an animal that is a dangerous hunter. For both wolf and leopard, translators should be careful not to use such a long descriptive phrase that the poetic nature is lost. A local equivalent would be better.
Watching against translates the same construction rendered “watching over” in 1.12. “Waiting to attack” or “looking [at the cities] to see when to attack” conveys the meaning. New Jerusalem Bible uses a present tense (“lurks round”), while Good News Translation (“will prowl through”) and Revised English Bible (“will prowl about”) express the verb as a future.
Every one who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces may be understood as the activity of the leopards: “a leopard will prowl about their towns and maul any who venture out” (Revised English Bible). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar to Revised English Bible.
As we said above, most translations give readers the impression that lions, wolves, and leopards are to be understood literally. However, at the beginning of the verse Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch equates these animals with Israel’s enemies: “These people will be destroyed by their enemies! They [their enemies] will fall upon them as a lion … as a wolf … As a leopard….”
The noun rendered transgressions (Good News Translation “sins”) is used only here in Jeremiah; it is made from the same stem as the verb rendered “transgressed” by Revised Standard Version in 2.8. See the comment there. Their transgressions are many may need to be restructured: “they have sinned against me many times.” Their or “they,” of course, refers to the inhabitants of the cities, not the wild animals.
Apostasies is first used in 2.19. “Apostasy” means to reject or turn away from your religion. Their apostasies are great may also need to be restructured; for example, “they have turned away from me many times” or “they turn only their back to me” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
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 .