complete verse (Jeremiah 11:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 11:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then, God said to me, ‘Go and announce these news in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Tell people to follow and respect/obey the rules of this covenant.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD again said to me, ‘Tell these messages to the towns of Juda and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘[You (plur.)] remember and obey the regulations of this covenant.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then Yahweh said to me, ‘Go into the streets of Jerusalem and to the other cities in Judah. Proclaim my message to the people. Tell them to listen to the agreement that I made with their ancestors, and to obey it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 11:6

Instead of introducing the verse with And, it may be better to use a time expression such as “Then” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible).

Since all these words refers to what follows, it is possible to allow the verb to convey the meaning without retaining the phrase: “Proclaim in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Another possibility would be to say “Here is what you should say in the streets of Jerusalem and in the other cities of Judah.” For streets see 5.1.

In the next clause it may be helpful to continue with “Say to the people: ‘Listen to….’ ” Good News Translation uses indirect speech: “tell the people to listen to….”

As in verse 3, the words of this covenant means “the terms of this covenant” (Revised English Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version).

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 .