This very day he will halt at Nob: The pronoun he refers to the Assyrian army just as it did in verse 28. When the Assyrians get as far as the town of Nob just outside Jerusalem, they will halt (literally “stand still”). Jerusalem was visible from Nob.

He will shake his fist at …: “Shaking the fist” is making one’s (right) hand into a fist, raising it, and shaking it at somebody. The gesture is meant to threaten that person. So Assyria intends to threaten Jerusalem with attack. Since this kind of body language can have various meanings in different cultures, translators are urged to render the meaning of shake his fist, rather than simply describe the physical action. It is likely that the verb “threaten” will need to be used.

The mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem: In 3.16-17 and in 4.4 there was the phrase “the daughters of Zion,” meaning “the women of Jerusalem” and “the people of Jerusalem,” respectively. Here the phrases the mount of the daughter of Zion and the hill of Jerusalem are parallel, referring to the city of Jerusalem (see also verse 12 and 1.8). The phrases also refer figuratively to those who live there.

For the translation of this verse we suggest:

• Today they will stop at Nob—
shake their fists [as a threat] against the people of Zion,
the mount of Jerusalem.

• This very day they will reach Nob and stop. They will threaten those on Mount Zion, the hill on which Jerusalem is built.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .