Why then must any one think that they are gods, or call them gods?: The refrain appears again here, but this time it is worded a bit differently. Literally it says “How then is it to be thought or called that they are gods?” Good News Translation has it just right. The question asked here does not expect an answer; the answer expected in Revised Standard Version would be “They must not.” The answer expected in Good News Translation would be “They cannot.” The question can also be expressed as a statement: “No one can possibly think that they are gods, or call them gods” or “It’s not possible that people can think that these are really gods or can even call them gods.”

Besides, even the Chaldeans themselves dishonor them: Besides indicates emphasis in the Greek, and may certainly be retained in a number of languages. The Chaldeans are “Babylonians” (Good News Translation; see the comments on Bar 1.2). Themselves also reveals emphasis in the Greek. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version bring this across with “their own gods.” For dishonor them, the right shade of meaning is hard to catch here. It is not that the Babylonians, by their bad behavior, dishonor their deities. It is rather that the Babylonians do things that put their gods to an objective test, which they fail. They are putting their gods in a position where anyone with good sense has to see their worthlessness; hence the gods are dishonored. New English Bible comes close to the right idea with “Besides, even the Chaldeans themselves bring these idols of theirs into disrepute,” or we may even say “… cause these idols of theirs to lose respect [or, honor].”

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.