Both here and in verse 18, Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Bible en français courant identify at the very first the persons addressed, before giving the message that is spoken to them. In many languages this will give a more natural translation.

Stand by the way and watch may be rendered “stand at the side of the road and wait.”

Inhabitant of Aroer: Aroer was a town on the northern rim of the Arnon River (verse 20), which flows into the Dead Sea at almost its midpoint and forms the northern boundary of Moab. Translators can identify it as “town of Aroer.” The text again has inhabitant in the singular, but the reference is to the population there: “You people who live in Aroer.”

Him who flees is parallel with her who escapes, and so Good News Translation renders “ask those who are running away.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch handles it somewhat differently: “Ask the fleeing men and women, ‘What has happened?’ ”

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 .

Concerning Edom: As with the messages about the other nations, this one begins with this title, which can be translated “This is the message about Edom.”

Thus says the LORD: See 2.2.

LORD of hosts: See 2.19.

Is wisdom no more in Teman?: Teman was a district in Edom, here used of the entire land. Some scholars assume that Edom was especially known for its wisdom, while other scholars do not hold this to be true. In either case, the question assumes that the people of Edom have not conducted themselves very wisely. Since the form of this question is a very awkward expression for English speakers, Good News Translation restructures to “Have the people of Edom lost their good judgment?” Another possible rendering is “Isn’t there any wise person left in Teman?” Or translators can use an affirmation: “It seems that no one is left in Teman who has good judgment.”

Counsel is taken by Good News Translation to mean “persons who give counsel or advice,” and so it has the rendering “Can their advisers no longer tell them what to do?”

Has their wisdom vanished?: If it would be unnatural in a language to speak of wisdom vanishing, then translators can say something like “Have all the wise people left?” or “Is there no wise person left?”

Repeating the question three times would tend to make it extremely emphatic for the Hebrew reader; however, in other languages this would diminish the effect of the question. Translators should do what would be appropriate in their case.

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 .

Though scholars agree that the following verses are spoken to the people of Babylonia, this would be almost impossible for average readers to work out unless they are told. That is why Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch introduce a noun of address (“People of Babylonia”). Moffatt also identifies the persons addressed in verse 11.

Though you rejoice, though you exult, O plunderers of my heritage: Rejoice is also used in 31.13; 41.13. In a causative sense the verb appears in 20.15 (Revised Standard Version “making glad”); 31.13 (Revised Standard Version “give gladness”). Though exult is used much less frequently in the Old Testament than the verb rejoice, it is found more often in Jeremiah: 11.15; 15.17 (Revised Standard Version “rejoice”); 51.39 (Revised Standard Version “rejoice” in a footnote). A person’s heritage (see 37.12, where Revised Standard Version has “portion”) was the land inherited from his or her ancestors. The LORD is here using it in a figure of speech to describe his people, who are his own special possession. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders “You who plundered my possessions.” This address form probably needs to come first in the sentence: “You people who plundered my possession, you may be rejoicing and gloating now.” Good News Translation uses short sentences, also a useful model for some languages: “you plundered my nation. You are happy and glad.”

Wanton as a heifer at grass is an almost impossible expression for English readers to understand without the help of a commentary! The picture would seem to be that of a young cow threshing grain (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). According to Deut 25.4, the Israelites were forbidden to muzzle cattle that were treading grain. Translators can say something like “though you run about happy as a young cow in the pasture” or “though you frolic like a young cow at the time of threshing grain.”

Neigh like stallions: See 8.16.

In the text the sentence continues in the next verse. See the discussion there for ways to structure the verses.

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 .

I will bring them down … to the slaughter: This is similar in thought to “let them go down to the slaughter” in 50.27.

For this verse, Bassa in Liberia has:

• I will carry them to a slaughtering place like a person carrying domesticated animals to a slaughtering place.

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 .

Verse 13 continues with for; that is, God now gives the reason that the sky should be so horrified. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible conveys the meaning with “Yes, it is twofold, the evil committed….” Other translations such as New International Version drop the transition altogether. Translators should do whatever is most natural in the discourse of their language.

Evils translates the same word used in 1.16, where Revised Standard Version has “wickedness.” It may be used of any kind of evil in general, though in the present context it has the more specialized meaning of “sins” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Luther 1984). The two sins that the people have committed are (1) they have abandoned their worship of the LORD, and (2) they have turned to worship gods that are as useless as a broken cistern.

Forsaken is expressed as “turned away from” by Good News Translation. Other possibilities in English would include “abandoned” or “rejected.”

The fountain of living waters refers to the fresh running water of a spring, and so Good News Translation translates “the spring of fresh water.” For people who live in a desert society, the contrast between a spring of fresh water and broken cisterns would be very evident. In the land of Canaan where fresh springs of water were not readily available, the people had to depend upon water stored in cisterns. The limestone in which the cisterns were cut was of porous nature, so that it was necessary to line them with a non-porous plaster. But if the plaster cracked, then the water would seep out through the crack into the porous limestone. Thus the picture of the Canaanite gods as broken cisterns describes by way of imagery what is stated openly in verses 8 and 11: the gods of the Canaanite people are unable to help the people who worship them.

Some translators will find they need to express fountain of living waters with a comparison, as for example, “who is like a spring of fresh water for them.” The notion of living waters (“fresh water” in Good News Translation) could also be “life-giving water” if translators wanted to retain more of the image of the text.

Hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water is a figure that means they have put their faith in other gods. One way to translate this image is “they have worshiped other gods that are as useless as broken cisterns.” If cisterns are not known, translators may say something like “storage tanks” or “holes for storing water [that they dig out.]” If broken in a language only meant that the cisterns were broken into pieces, then “cracked” would be better.

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 .

She saw (so most translations) has manuscript support, though the Hebrew text has “I saw” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The Hebrew Old Testament Text Project Committee believes that the subject is God, and that what he saw is stated in the second half of the verse. Therefore they propose this meaning: “And I saw that, when … I had sent away Israel…, she became not afraid….” Translators may follow either of the above options.

For faithless see verse 6.

I had sent her away with a decree of divorce is placed in the proper time sequence by Good News Translation: “I divorced Israel and sent her away.” With a decree of divorce (literally “I gave a decree of divorce to her”) reflects the law of Deut 25.1-4. For divorce see verse 1.

The restructuring of Good News Translation for the first sentence will be a helpful model for many translators. Or we could say something like “She saw what happened to Israel who turned from me [unfaithfully]. Because she committed adultery as she did, I divorced her and sent her away.”

False translates a participle made from the same stem as the adjective in verse 7; the two words are equivalent in this context and should be rendered the same in translation. Elsewhere in Jeremiah, Revised Standard Version represents the verb/participle as “false” (3.11), “faithless” (3.20; 5.11), “treacherous” (9.2; 12.1), and “dealt treacherously with” (12.6).

Did not fear (Good News Translation “was not afraid”) may require an object in some languages: “did not fear me” or “did not fear that I might punish her in the same way.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “But this did not frighten her unfaithful sister.”

Played the harlot: The same expression occurs in verse 6. See the comment at 2.20.

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 .