Not to build houses: See verses 2, 7.

To have no vineyard or field can mean to not possess vineyards or fields, but probably also means not working or farming them. Seed could mean either not to plant crops or, as in Good News Translation, to have no grain. Either is acceptable.

We … have obeyed …: See verse 8.

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 .