For I have seen the captivity of my sons and daughters: Captivity does not refer to the state of being held captive, but the act of being taken captive, as Good News Translation brings out. In languages that do not have the passive voice, we may express this first line as “because I have watched my enemies drag my sons and daughters away to foreign lands.”

Which the Everlasting brought upon them: Which refers back to captivity. Good News Translation repeats the noun for clarity. Contemporary English Version refers back to it by saying “The eternal God has done this to punish them.” The Everlasting is literally “the Eternal.” Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have “the Eternal God.” This name for God is used several times in Baruch from this point on. For this expression see the comments on verse 8, but there the Greek is literally “Eternal God.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.