Better translation of Jeremiah 33:16?

Question

Jeremiah 33:16 BEREAN BIBLE

In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.16 f Hebrew YHWH Tsidqenu -Jeremiah 33:16

Jeremiah 33:16 NKJV

In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE Lord OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’

Jeremiah 33:16 YLT

those days is Judah saved, And Jerusalem doth dwell confidently, And this [is] he whom Jehovah proclaimeth to her: `Our Righteousness.'

Jeremiah 33:16 NLT

In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And their motto will be 'The Lord is our righteousness!'

Which is a better translation of the above text?

Answer 1

There is an important difference between a very literal translation and a translation accurately conveying the meaning of the text. Jer 33:16 is a perfect example of this. We observe the following:

• תִּוָּשַׁ֣ע = "will be saved" is feminine singular verb
• יְהוּדָ֔ה = "Judah" is masculine singular noun
• וִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם = "and Jerusalem" is feminine singular noun
• תִּשְׁכּ֣וֹן = "will dwell" is feminine singular verb
• לָבֶ֑טַח = "in safety" is masculine singular noun
• יִקְרָא = "will be called" is masculine singular verb (compare, Gen 1:5, 8, 10, 2:19, 20, 23, 3:9, etc)
• לָ֖הּ = "upon her" = preposition and 3rd person feminine pronoun, singular (referring to "Jerusalem", the only previous feminine singular noun, and not "Judah" which is masculine.)

Note the alternating masculine and singular nouns and verbs. Jay P Green in his literal translation helps to untangle these by providing the following version:

In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety; and this is the name that shall be called upon her: "Jehovah our Righteousness".

Thus, the pronoun "she" refers to "Jerusalem". In modern idiomatic English, cities usually take a neuter pronoun "it"; while ships take a feminine pronoun "she/her". Hence the "it" in most modern translations.

Answer 2

In my opinion, the best translation among the proposals:

In that day Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And their motto will be 'The Lord is our righteousness!' Jeremiah 33:16 NLT

I still prefer this one:

In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely, and their motto will be 'YHVH Sidkenu' Jeremiah 33:16 FREE

In the day when Judah shall be saved, Jerusalem also shall be established for security, and by this name shall he be called: "Jehovah Sidkenu". Jeremiah 33:16 HEBREW

In his days he will save Judah, also Israel will be established persuaded and this "is" his name, he will be called: Lord Josedek. Jeremiah 33:16 LXX

Josedek: “Yahweh is just” Haggai 1:1 H03087 יהוצדק Y ̂ehowtsadaq.

Is the MESSIAH announced in Jeremiah 33:16?