Obedience to the law of the Sabbath (verse 24) will result in great blessings (verses 25-26). Disobedience will result in destruction (verse 27). This verse is a precondition for the promises in the next two. If the people do obey the LORD in observing the Sabbath, then the city will survive as the capital.

Again, listen can be rendered “pay attention to” or “obey” (Good News Translation).

Rather than translate one long sentence through verse 25, as in the text, with if at the beginning, Good News Translation makes this verse a series of statements, followed by a new sentence in verse 25 with “Then.” Some versions have modified this slightly with “But if you obey me, says the LORD, and do not carry any loads into the city on the day of rest, and do not work at all, but instead honor me on that day, then this is what will happen. 25 Your kings and princes….”

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 .