complete verse (Jeremiah 52:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 52:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “Zedekiah did bad matters in the eyes of God following like his father Jehoiakim had done.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “What he did was bad in the sight of the LORD, just as King Jehoyakim had-done.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Zedekiah did many things that Yahweh says are evil, like his father Jehoiakim had done.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 52:2

He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD: This is a traditional formula that appears elsewhere, but especially in Judges, 1-2Kings, and 1-2Chronicles. Good News Translation renders it “King Zedekiah sinned against the LORD” and New Jerusalem Bible “He did what is displeasing to Yahweh.” See 7.30.

According to all that Jehoiakim had done is more naturally expressed in English as “just as King Jehoiakim had done” (Good News Translation).

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 .