The cry of the mourning mother is followed by a cry of another kind, that of the people for their sin, which is closely bound to 3.21-25, where there is also a play on the word “turn.”

I have heard translates an intensive form in Hebrew, “hearing I have heard.” For this reason, Bright renders “I have heard it, I have heard it” and New American Bible “I hear, I hear.” Revised English Bible renders the force of the two verbs by “I listened intently” and New Jerusalem Bible “I have indeed heard.” But other versions have not felt that this intensive form needs to be or can be reflected naturally.

Bemoaning: The root meaning of the verb is “shake”; its first occurrence is in 4.1, where Revised Standard Version renders “waver.” The form here, however, is a reflexive form that intensifies the meaning: “rocking in his grief” (New English Bible); “grieving” (New Jerusalem Bible).

Chastened: See 6.8, where Revised Standard Version has “warned.” Renderings such as “disciplined,” “tamed,” or “taught to obey” (Good News Translation) are probably better than “flogged” of New Jerusalem Bible.

Untrained is better rendered “unbroken” (Revised English Bible) or “untamed” (New American Bible). The picture is that of a cow, literally “a young bull,” which is not yet broken to the plow.

Bring us back: This is from the causative stem of the verb “turn” or “turn back.” The verb occurs frequently in Jeremiah, including the passive form, which also occurs here, rendered by Revised Standard Version as may be restored. New American Bible renders the two verbs as “If you allow me, I will return” and Revised English Bible as “Bring me back and let me return.” Since the reference is to the nation, Good News Translation renders with a plural: “Bring us back; we are ready to return to you.”

For thou art the LORD my God: The relationship shown by for seems to be “We are ready to come back to you, since you are the LORD our God” or “We are ready to come back to you because that is where we should be, with you the LORD our God.”

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 .