77 Or “In the beginning of the reign.” For a discussion of the usage of the terms here see the translator’s note on . If this refers to the accession year the dating would be 598/97 b.c.
78 Heb “That which came [as] the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet about the Elam.” See the translator’s note on for the construction here and compare also 46:1; 47:1; 50:1. Elam was a country on the eastern side of the Tigris River in what is now southwestern Iran. Its capital city was Susa. It was destroyed in 640 b.c. by Ashurbanipal after a long period of conflict with the Assyrian kings. It appears from Babylonian records to have regained its independence shortly thereafter, perhaps as early as 625 b.c., and was involved in the fall of Assyria in 612 b.c. If the date refers to the first year of Zedekiah’s rule (597 b.c.), this prophecy appears to be later than the previous ones (cf. the study notes on and ).

In other versions

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:

This is the word of the Lord that came to the prophet Jeremiah about Elam at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.

This message concerning Elam came to the prophet Jeremiah from the Lord at the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah.

The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, saying,

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

Public Domain