complete verse (Jeremiah 46:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 46:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “Prepare yourselves, you people of Egypt,
    you will go to become prisoners in another country,
    because Memphis will be destroyed
    until it all becomes desolate with no one living there.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) residents of Egipto, prepare now your belongings/[lit. things to bring], for you will-be-taken-captive. Memfis will-be-destroyed and it will-become-desolate and no one will-live there.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “All you people who live in Egypt,
    pack your possessions/clothes and prepare to be exiled.
    Memphis city will be destroyed;
    it will become a ruin, and no one will be living there.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 46:19

Prepare yourselves baggage for exile may be rendered “Get ready to be taken prisoner” (Good News Translation). For exile see the comments on “captivity” in 1.3.

Inhabitants of Egypt is literally “inhabitants of the daughter of Egypt.” However, as previously indicated (verse 11), the use of “virgin daughter” or “daughter” is a traditional way of indicating the inhabitants of a nation, city, or community. Most versions render this as “people of Egypt” or “Egyptians.”

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders the first part of the verse “Pack up your bags, you Egyptians, you are going into exile!” Some languages will require that the sentence begins with the people addressed: “You people of Egypt, pack your bags, for you are going into exile.”

Memphis: See 2.16.

A waste: See 2.15.

A ruin: In Hebrew this is a verb (“she will be ruined”); a literal meaning is “she will be kindled” or “she will be set on fire.” See 2.15.

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 .