complete verse (Jeremiah 18:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 18:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then I went down to that home, and I found that man preparing/working at a thing for shaping pots.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore I went to the potter’s house and I saw him making a clay-pot.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So I went to that shop, and I saw the man who makes pots. He was working at the wheel that he uses to form pots.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 18:3

Wheel: In Hebrew this is literally “the two stones.” The potter’s wheel consisted of two stones in the shape of disks. The lower stone was larger than the upper one, and the potter could spin it with his feet while working the clay on top of the smaller stone. If such a potter’s wheel is not known, translators can say “the wheel the potter turns to shape the [clay into] pots.” The second part of the verse could be “I saw the potter making pots on the wheel that turns to shape them.”

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 .