A nation or a kingdom: See 1.10. The two nouns are probably best understood as having the same meaning, which apparently is the interpretation of Jerusalem Bible: “for some nation, for some kingdom.” This interpretation is further supported by the observation that in verse 8 only “nation” is used. However, if translators can use two different words without the sentence sounding awkward, that is certainly preferable.

I declare concerning … that I will pluck up … can be expressed as in Good News Translation “I say that I am going to uproot…,” or in a sentence such as “If I say this about any nation or kingdom: ‘I will uproot….’ ”

Pluck up and break down and destroy: See 1.10.

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 .