complete verse (Jeremiah 13:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 13:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “What will you do when God turns people against you
    whom you thought were your friends?
    Will that not pain you
    like a woman who is giving birth?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “How will you (sing.) feel when your (sing.) allied nation will-reign-over you (plur.)? Is-it not so that you (sing.) will-feel pain like a woman who is about-to-give-birth?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 13:21

What will you say … to be friends to you?: In the words of one commentator, “The first part of the verse cannot be translated with any assurance.” This is the reason why Good News Translation indicates that everything included here is unclear in Hebrew. One standard interpretation is represented by Good News Translation. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch understands the pronoun they to be a reference to divine action, and so renders “What will you say when the Lord places over you your enemies, those people you had always looked upon as your friends?” It will help readers in some languages if this question is restructured; for example, “There are people you had made friends with. What will you say [or, How will you like it] when they are placed over you as your rulers?”

Will not … in travail? (compare 6.24) is restructured as a statement in Good News Translation: “You will be in pain like a woman giving birth.”

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 .