Let the neighbors of Zion come: In Greek this verse begins with a strong imperative (“Come…”) just as do the stanzas beginning at 4.9b, 4.21, 4.27, 4.30, 4.36, and 5.5. For neighbors of Zion, see the comments on verse 9.

Remember the capture of my sons and daughters …: There is an awkward shift of person in the verbs of this verse. The verb in the previous line (Let … come) is expressed as a third person imperative, but the verb here (remember) is a second person imperative. This is very likely original to the text of Baruch, but the translator is advised to make the verb forms consistent. Good News Translation does this by rendering them naturally in English as “come and consider…” (similarly Contemporary English Version “Come and see”). Remember here means “think about,” “give thought to,” “consider.” The Greek noun translated capture is the same noun rendered “captivity” in verse 10. Verse 15 makes it clear that once again the word refers to the act of capture rather than the state of captivity.

In fact, the capture of my sons and daughters and which the Everlasting brought upon them are word for word in Greek the same as the corresponding expressions in verse 10. It is hard to see that much is lost by translating the two differently, as Good News Translation has done, but the repetition could mark the beginning of a new stanza in the author’s thinking. If the translator wants to honor the author’s decision to repeat the expressions, there is usually a way to do it. For instance, verse 14 in Good News Translation could be reworded to read “… come and think about my sons and daughters taken into captivity, a captivity brought on them by the Eternal God.” This is at least a stronger statement than verse 14 actually is in Good News Translation, and it probably gains strength from its being a repetition. The reader or hearer senses the author’s insistence on the point by having it repeated. In fact, a small danger lurks in “consider how….” That could be misunderstood in English as an invitation to think about the way in which God sent the people into exile.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Come, all my neighboring cities, and see how the Eternal God has caused my enemies to drag my sons and daughters away into foreign countries.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.