Besieging is rendered by the more general term “attacking” in Good News Translation. Translators who want to retain the more precise meaning can use an expression such as “surrounding and attacking.”

The court of the guard which was in the palace of the king of Judah: This does not refer to a place where a guard, or a contingent of soldiers, was posted, but rather an open court in the palace compound where prisoners who did not require close confinement were detained. One translation has “in the prison compound attached to the palace of the king of Judah,” while Good News Translation says “in the courtyard of the royal palace.”

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 .