At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble: Their fall refers to Edom (Good News Translation “When Edom falls…”). Edom is here compared to a heavy object that falls on the ground and causes the earth to shake.

Their cry: The reference is again to Edom.

The Red Sea is more accurately the “Sea of Reeds,” which was somewhere near the northeast boundary of Egypt.

The second part of the verse can be translated “People as far away as the Sea of Reeds will hear their cries.”

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 .