Basket is found in the Old Testament elsewhere only in Amos 8.1-2, where it is used of a container for fruit. Here it has the meaning of “cage” (New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation). A basket full of birds would then refer to the caged birds caught by the hunter: “Just as a hunter fills his cage with birds” (Good News Translation) and “As the cage of the bird hunter is full of captured birds” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Full of treachery actually means “full of [things gotten by] treachery.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “things that were gotten unjustly.” The restructuring of Good News Translation (“they have filled their houses with loot”) suggests that the possessions were gotten by wrong methods, though the meaning of treachery or “deceit” is lacking. It might be better to say “they have filled their houses with things they obtained by trickery [or, fraud].” Elsewhere in Jeremiah the noun treachery occurs only in 9.6 (Revised Standard Version “deceit upon deceit”) and 9.8 (Revised Standard Version “deceitfully”).

Great translates a Hebrew word that covers a wide range of meaning. Here it probably has the meaning of “powerful,” as several translations indicate: “rich and powerful” (New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version) and “powerful and rich” (Good News Translation, New American Bible).

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 .