The LORD now becomes the speaker, as is indicated in Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Bible en français courant. In Bible en français courant verses 19-20 have a subheading in parentheses “(Jeremiah),” and verses 21-22 have another “(The Lord).”

Verses 21-22 are tied in thought to verse 18, which denies that these prophets had stood in the LORD’s council and received their message from him.

In some languages send will require an indirect object or goal, as in “send to you” or “send to deliver my message.”

The prophets is better rendered “these prophets” (Good News Translation), since the LORD is speaking of a certain group of prophets, those already referred to.

Yet they ran, as a messenger would do. Some translations have “ran to give you a message.”

Speak to them is here used in the sense of “speak my message to them” or “give them a message to speak.” See Good News Translation “I did not give them any message.”

Prophesied is best understood to mean “spoke in my name” (Good News Translation); Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch uses a similar expression. Another way to express this is “gave you a message as if it were from me.”

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 .