She saw (so most translations) has manuscript support, though the Hebrew text has “I saw” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The Hebrew Old Testament Text Project Committee believes that the subject is God, and that what he saw is stated in the second half of the verse. Therefore they propose this meaning: “And I saw that, when … I had sent away Israel…, she became not afraid….” Translators may follow either of the above options.

For faithless see verse 6.

I had sent her away with a decree of divorce is placed in the proper time sequence by Good News Translation: “I divorced Israel and sent her away.” With a decree of divorce (literally “I gave a decree of divorce to her”) reflects the law of Deut 25.1-4. For divorce see verse 1.

The restructuring of Good News Translation for the first sentence will be a helpful model for many translators. Or we could say something like “She saw what happened to Israel who turned from me [unfaithfully]. Because she committed adultery as she did, I divorced her and sent her away.”

False translates a participle made from the same stem as the adjective in verse 7; the two words are equivalent in this context and should be rendered the same in translation. Elsewhere in Jeremiah, Revised Standard Version represents the verb/participle as “false” (3.11), “faithless” (3.20; 5.11), “treacherous” (9.2; 12.1), and “dealt treacherously with” (12.6).

Did not fear (Good News Translation “was not afraid”) may require an object in some languages: “did not fear me” or “did not fear that I might punish her in the same way.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “But this did not frighten her unfaithful sister.”

Played the harlot: The same expression occurs in verse 6. See the comment at 2.20.

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 .