I signed the deed is literally “I wrote in the book,” which may mean either “I signed the deed” (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible) or “I wrote out the deed” (New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). If no term is available to render deed, translators can say “the paper to say that I had bought it.”

Sealed: If this custom is not known, translators can use an expression like “closed it with wax and put my personal mark on it.”

Got witnesses can be “had people write that what I wrote was true” or “had other people write that they had seen me write these things in this way.”

Scales; that is, balance scales.

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 .