Then they said is translated “Then the people said” by Good News Translation and “There were some people who said” by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch.
Come (used twice in this verse) serves as a transitional marker, encouraging people to do something (see also 48.2; a different Hebrew word is used similarly in 35.11; 50.5). In everyday English people can often say “Come on…” (New Jerusalem Bible).
Make plots against Jeremiah can be expressed as “plan to do something to Jeremiah” or “decide on a way to get Jeremiah out of our way.”
The plot against Jeremiah results from his message, which predicts a time when God will no longer speak to his people through priests, wise men, or prophets. For this reason, following let us make plots against Jeremiah, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch includes “He lies!” Revised Standard Version is ambiguous, and the Good News Translation restructuring suggests that if the people get rid of Jeremiah, there will still be the priests, wise men, and other prophets.
The law shall not perish from the priest essentially means either “the priests will not be lacking in instruction [to give us]” or “there will still be priests who can give us instruction.” Nor counsel from the wise means “the wise people will not lack in counsel [to give us]” or “there will still be wise people to counsel us,” and nor the word from the prophet can mean “the prophets will still be able to give us the word [or, message] from the LORD” or “we will still have prophets to give us the LORD’s word.” Translators can choose whichever of these pairs of alternative expressions that make the point most clearly in their language. The three negative statements (the law shall not … nor … nor …) may be better expressed as positive statements (see Good News Translation and the examples above). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is effective: “Never will our priests lack instruction, our skilled people good counsel, our prophets the word, which comes from God!”
In the present context law is best understood with the meaning of “instruction” (Jerusalem Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New American Bible), as Revised English Bible indicates: “There will still be priests to guide us.” A second group of people Israel expected guidance from were the wise (see 8.8-9). The third group Jeremiah directed himself against were the prophets (see 2.8; 14.13-16; 23.9-40). The word that comes from the prophet is the word or message from the LORD. The priest, the wise, and the prophet are singulars in form, but they refer to the priests, wise people, and prophets as groups. Consequently, many translations use plural forms. For priest see 1.1, and for prophet refer to 1.5.
Let us smite him with the tongue represents the Hebrew text, which is rendered “let us bring charges against him” by New Revised Standard Version. This is similar to “Let’s bring charges against him” in Good News Translation, “let us slander him” in New Jerusalem Bible, and “Let us invent some charges against him” in Revised English Bible. New American Bible (“let us destroy him by his own tongue”) follows the Syriac. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends that the Hebrew be followed.
Not heed any of his words is translated “stop listening to what he says” by Good News Translation, “pay no attention to his message” by New English Bible, and “pay no attention to anything he says” by New Jerusalem Bible. New American Bible “carefully note his every word” follows the Septuagint, and suggests that Jeremiah’s enemies want to get evidence against him in what he says.
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 .