Cut off from Babylon the sower, and the one who handles the sickle is a command to bring all agricultural activities to an end. The sower is a collective noun for those who plant the seed, while the one who handles the sickle is used collectively of those who gather the harvest. Good News Translation renders “Do not let seeds be planted in that country nor let a harvest be gathered.” Another way to render this part of the verse is “Stop the people of Babylon from planting in the fields and from harvesting crops.”

Because of the sword of the oppressor (see 46.16) states the cause for what is described as happening in the final two lines of this verse. Once again the sword symbolizes either “war” or “armies” (see 5.12). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “But all who are not natives of this land must flee before the fury of the sword and return to their own people and their own land!” Good News Translation expresses this as “Every foreigner living there will be afraid of the attacking army and will go back home.”

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 .