Note that Good News Translation understands men to refer to “people.” Memphis was the capital of Lower Egypt, while Tahpanhes was a city in the Nile River delta. Translators might have to say “cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes,” and possibly indicate in a footnote that they were in Egypt.

There are two problems in translating the verb have broken: (1) The tense of the verb may be either past (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation) or future “will break” (Revised English Bible). No final decision is possible, although grammatically the past is very unlikely here; and An American Translation attempts to walk the middle of the road through the use of a timeless tense: “break.” New American Bible, though accepting the alternative possibility of meaning for this verb, also prefers a timeless tense: “shave.” (2) The verb given the meaning “break” may also mean “shave” (literally “graze”). This is the interpretation of the text preferred by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which also believes the tense of the verb to be future. The Hebrew Old Testament Text Project Committee’s understanding of the text is well represented by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch: “Also the Egyptians, those men from Memphis and Tahpanhes, will come and shave your head bald!” To have your head shaved forcibly most probably was a sign that you were being reduced to slavery. This may be the basis for Moffatt “strip you to be slaves.”

Notice that here again the text shifts from third person to second, your, but Good News Translation has continued with third person, “his.” See our discussion at verse 3.

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 .