Although the Hebrew sentence of verse 6 continues through verse 7, it may be wise to break it into small units, for example, by starting verse 7 with “He did this while the army….”

Lachish is about 37 kilometers (23 miles) southwest of Jerusalem. The now famous 18 Lachish letters, written on pieces of broken pottery, belong to this period immediately before the fall of Lachish and Jerusalem in 587 B.C. The city of Azekah (about 29 kilometers or 18 miles north of Lachish) is mentioned in one of these letters; an officer (presumably in charge of a military outpost between Lachish and Azekah) writes to the officer in charge at Lachish, informing him that he can no longer see Azekah.

Fortified cities can be rendered as “cities with walls [to protect them].” See 1.18.

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 .