There is some discussion among scholars concerning the reason that Jeremiah addresses himself to the people of Benjamin. Some believe that this is an exclusive reference, which would not include the inhabitants of Jerusalem who were members of other tribes. According to this viewpoint, Jeremiah is interested only with the safety of his fellow tribesmen (see 1.1) who had moved to the capital city. But since Jerusalem was sometimes considered to be within the territory of Benjamin, it seems more probable that Jeremiah is addressing all the inhabitants of the city. Moreover, it is altogether possible that the choice of O people of Benjamin is due solely to the poetic and artistic feeling of the author.

It is necessary in some languages to say “people of the tribe of Benjamin” or “people of the territory of Benjamin,” although “Benjamin” was already mentioned as a territory in 1.1. As Good News Translation has done in English, many translators will place this form of address at the beginning of the sentence: “You people of Benjamin, flee for safety!”

Flee for safety translates the same verb used in 4.6; elsewhere it is used in the Old Testament in this particular form only in Exo 9.19 and Isa 10.31.

From the midst of Jerusalem can be a separate sentence, as in “Get out of Jerusalem,” or it can be attached to flee for safety, as in “Flee from Jerusalem to safety.”

In Hebrew there is a play on words between the verb blow and the noun Tekoa. In addition, the verb translated “be alienated” in verse 8 continues the play on words, so that verses 1-8 are rounded off as a unit.

For Blow the trumpet, see 4.5. As there, some translators will say “Blow the trumpet of warning.”

Tekoa (the city of the prophet Amos, Amos 1.1) was twenty kilometers (twelve miles) south of Jerusalem. But the location of Beth-haccherem (mentioned elsewhere only in Neh 3.14) is uncertain. Some scholars locate it near Jerusalem, while others place it near Tekoa. In any case, “town of Beth-haccherem” would certainly be sufficient in the translation.

Raise a signal refers to the building of a fire to make a smoke signal. As with blowing the trumpet, the smoke signal was a warning of approaching danger. Consequently, some translators will say “Send up a smoke signal of warning.” For the practice of making a signal fire, see Jdg 20.38-40. The practice is also referred to in the famous Lachish Letters, which date immediately before the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.; in one of these the commander of an outpost near the city of Lachish writes (on a piece of broken pottery) that he is “watching for the signals of Lachish,” since he can no longer see signals from the city of Azekah. The Hebrew word used for “signal” is the same as used here in Jeremiah.

Evil (Good News Translation “Disaster”) translates a Hebrew word of wide meaning; see 1.14. Evil … great destruction is translated “calamity … great disaster” by Revised English Bible and “disaster … immense calamity” by New Jerusalem Bible. See 4.6.

Bible en français courant has rendered looms out of the north as “appears on the horizon in the north,” which may be a good solution for other languages as well. “Comes into sight in the north” is also 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 .