The whole expression smote them, and put them to death probably means simply “killed them.” However, Revised English Bible and Good News Translation both have something such as “had them beaten and put to death.” Most versions say “had them executed” rather than make it seem the king killed them himself.

Good News Translation does not repeat at Riblah, using “There.” That it was in the land of Hamath is attached to the mention of Riblah in the previous verse.

So Judah was carried captive out of its land: Judah is obviously a reference to “the people of Judah.” If the passive construction is awkward, translators can say, for example, “So it was that the people of Judah left their land and went into exile. The Babylonians carried them away.” Good News Translation begins a new paragraph with this sentence, believing it relates to what follows. But others see it as a summary of the previous verses. Either is certainly possible.

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 .