The oracle closes with the prophet reminding his people that what he is telling them comes from Yahweh. Since the speaker changes here from the watchman/messenger to the prophet, Contemporary English Version begins this verse with the quote frame “Then I said.” Most versions have a paragraph (so Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or stanza break (so Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Bible en français courant) here.

O my threshed and winnowed one: Most scholars believe this expression refers to the people of Judah. They suffered deeply under the Babylonians. The Hebrew text is literally “My threshed one and son of my threshing floor.” The actions of threshing and winnowing are associated with the grain harvest (see the comments on “chaff” at 17.13). After the stalks of grain have been cut, they are threshed (beaten) to remove the grains from the stalk and the skin from the grain. Then the grains are winnowed, that is, thrown in the air so that the remaining pieces of straw and skin (chaff) are blown away, leaving the separated grains. The images of threshing and winnowing are often used in the Bible to illustrate a process of purification that takes place through hardship. Threshed may be rendered “beaten.” The literal phrase “son of my threshing floor” is a metaphor for the grains that are left after the threshing and winnowing process. The “threshing floor” is a hard, flat area specially used for separating grain from the stalks, or for drying other crops. There may be one such area used by the whole village, or it may be a small domestic area. Good News Translation renders the whole expression as “My people Israel, you have been threshed like wheat.” It omits the specific reference to the threshing floor since many English readers would not know it. Contemporary English Version removes the metaphor completely, saying “My people, you have suffered terribly.” But since this is a poetic oracle, we recommend that translators try to preserve the imagery. Several versions offer good models. New International Version has “O my people, crushed on the threshing floor,” and Bible en français courant says “My people, you [singular] who have been beaten like grain on the threshing floor.” In some languages the image of grain that is beaten or pounded can be kept, without specifying where it takes place. A nonfigurative rendering should only be used if the imagery here is misunderstood.

What I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you: These words are the formal end of the oracle. The prophet says he has faithfully reported what Yahweh intended him to convey. For the LORD of hosts, see the comments at 1.9; for the God of Israel, see 17.6.

Translators can consider the following examples for this verse:

• Oh Judah, my threshed and winnowed one!
I announce to you what Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel told me.

• O Judah, you who have suffered so much!
What I have been shown by Yahweh of hosts, Israel’s God, I announce to you.

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 .