complete verse (Jeremiah 13:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 13:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Go to the river Euphrates, and then hide that cloth in a crevice in a cliff/rock.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Take-off the belt which you (sing.) bought and you (sing.) go to the River of Eufrates and hide there the belt in the hole of the rock.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He said, ‘Go to the small Perath Stream near Jerusalem and hide your waistcloth in a crevice/hole in the rocks.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 13:4 - 13:5

As a comparison of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation will indicate there is a great deal of repetition in the Hebrew text. Whether translators shorten the verse, as in Good News Translation, or retain the full form will depend on what would be normal discourse patterns in their language. For example, in many African languages, the repetition would be expected, and translators would say something such as “Take the loincloth you bought and are wearing, and go to the Euphrates [or, Perath] River. So I went and hid it by the river as the LORD had commanded me [to do].”

Arise: See 1.17.

The Euphrates is the traditional rendering. A number of translations have the equivalent of “Perath,” “Parath,” or “Parah” (Revised English Bible, New International Version, New American Bible, Moffatt, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), which is a stream about five kilometers (three miles) northeast of Anathoth. According to the Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch footnote, this interpretation is followed by one Septuagint tradition, but the Hebrew word may also have this meaning (as in Josh 18.23). The problem is that to travel to the Euphrates River would have involved a round trip of about 1100 kilometers (700 miles). It is felt also that much of the impact of the parable would be lost if the Euphrates is intended, since it is doubtful that anyone in Judah would have been willing to accompany Jeremiah there and back twice. This particular place was probably chosen because in Hebrew its name is identical with that of the Euphrates, and so could possibly be understood symbolically of the Euphrates. Consequently it is our recommendation that translators say “River Perath” or “the small stream Perath,” with a footnote to say that in Hebrew this is close in sound to “River Euphrates.”

Cleft can also be “crevice” or “crack.”

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 .