We should call attention to the punctuation in Revised Standard Version at the beginning of this verse and at the end of verse 11. This punctuation results from a slavish attempt to represent the form of direct discourse as found in the Hebrew text. Good News Translation arbitrarily prefers not to have more than one quotation within a quotation, which frequently requires a mixture of direct and indirect discourse in a form quite different from that of the Hebrew text. Since each language uses direct and indirect speech in different ways, the general advice is that translators should render this in a way that is natural and appropriate in their language, and at the same time allows the readers to be clear about who is speaking and who is spoken to. This may require repeating phrases such as “Jeremiah says,” “the LORD says this,” or “the king says.” However, using several layers of quotation marks, as in Revised Standard Version, will be no help to readers or to people who hear the text read aloud.

Will not serve can be expressed quite strongly: “refuses to submit to.”

Serve and put its neck under the yoke of are equivalent in meaning, and Good News Translation combines these to say “submit to his rule.” However, it may be more effective to maintain the imagery of the yoke; for example “submit to him by placing their heads under his yoke” or “submit to him, as an animal places its head under the yoke of its master.” For yoke see the notes before verse 1 and those on 2.20.

Sword … famine … pestilence: See 14.12.

Until I have consumed it by his hand is somewhat awkward in English; Good News Translation is more natural with “until I have let Nebuchadnezzar destroy it completely.”

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 .