For shows a continuation from verse 9, adding emphasis to how terrible the sins of Judah are. However, it is not natural in many languages and can be dropped (so Good News Translation).

It may not be natural in all languages to use an imperative for cross and send. Instead “If you cross” and “if you send” might be more natural, or possibly “You should cross … or … send.” Cross might be “Go across” or “Go over.” Since Cyprus is an island, people would have to go over the sea to reach it.

The coasts of Cyprus is perhaps more accurately translated “the islands in the west” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Originally the term kittim in Hebrew would have referred to the Phoenician settlers on the island of Cyprus, then to all of Cyprus, then to the Greek islands, and finally to the west in general. The LORD is telling his people to go as far west as they can, and see if any people have ever behaved as sinfully as they have. However, even though Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is accurate, we recommend that translators retain “coasts [or, islands] of Cyprus” in the text, with the fuller explanation of the meaning here in a note.

See might require some sort of object, as in “see what you can find” or “look there for such a thing.”

The name Kedar originally referred to the Bedouins of the Syrian-Arabian desert, but here it stands for the east in general. “Land of Kedar” will be helpful for many readers.

In many languages the verb send will require an object. Good News Translation supplies “someone” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “your representatives.”

Examine with care translates a verb plus an adverb, which make an expression much stronger than see, its parallel in the previous line. Translators might say “search thoroughly.” However, it seems quite possible that the two verbs are used in the same sense, except that the second of the two verbs intensifies the command. It is on the basis of this observation that Good News Translation omits see and examine with care from the commands to go to the west and to the east, and then follows with the statement “You will see that….” A possibility that retains the intensification of examine with care is:

• Cross over to the island of Cyprus and look around. And send someone to the land of Kedar to make a thorough search. You will find out that nothing like this has ever happened before.

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has:

• Cross the sea to the islands in the west and see for yourself! Or send your representatives to the peoples of the east and find out for yourself whether anything like this has ever happened!

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 .