In this verse the sinful people of Jerusalem ask if any of them can live in the presence of God who is like a consuming fire.

The sinners in Zion are afraid makes a simple statement about the people in Jerusalem. The sinners in Zion may mean that everyone in the city is a sinner and thus it refers to the whole population, or it may mean only some are sinners and refers to them. Translators may follow either sense here. For Zion see Isa 33.5 and 1.8. This line does not say specifically why the people are afraid. However, the wider context suggests that they are afraid of God’s presence, which is portrayed as a devouring fire. We can also assume that their fearful response is caused by the awesome things that Yahweh has done (verses 10-13). The Hebrew word rendered are afraid comes from a root that means “be terrified” (see the comments on this verb at 12.2 and 19.17, where Revised Standard Version renders it “will fear”).

Trembling has seized the godless is parallel with the previous line. Trembling is the outward expression of their fear. The Hebrew word for sinners refers to people who are actively opposed to God (see 13.9), while the word for godless points to people who have become polluted or impure (see 9.17). Such “impurity” results either from something they have done or from something that has happened to them. Bible en français courant calls the two groups of people “the guilty ones” and “the unfaithful ones.” Good News Translation combines both into one expression, saying “The sinful people.”

Because of terror the sinful people of Jerusalem ask the two questions that follow. In Psa 15.1 the psalmist (or the priest) asks the questions. Here the prophet has modified the words of the liturgy and put the questions into the mouths of the people. The questions may be rhetorical, and the implied answer is that no one can live in Zion with God since everyone is sinful. The third example below understands the questions in this way by rendering them as statements. However, it is more likely that these questions are real since the prophet answers them in the next verse.

Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire?: The Hebrew verb rendered dwell refers to a temporary stay, not a permanent one (see the comments at 16.4, where it is translated “sojourn”). The significance of this is that the people who are already in Zion are asking how they might remain there even on a temporary basis. The devouring fire is a metaphor for Yahweh’s presence (compare 30.33). In some languages this metaphor may need to be turned into a simile by mentioning Yahweh. We can say, for example, “Who among us can stay with the LORD who is like a devouring fire?”

Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?: This question repeats the previous one, except for the phrase everlasting burnings, which replaces the devouring fire. This phrase is literally “the hearths of eternity.” The word for “hearth” is used as a parallel to “altar” in Lev 6.9. “The hearths of eternity” are the altars for sacrifice that always have a fire on them. This is a another metaphor for the awesome presence of Yahweh that brings judgment and/or punishment. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates the whole question here as “Who can stand to be near this heat, which does not cease?” Translators could mention the altar for sacrifices, as in the examples below, although no translation consulted does so.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Those in Zion who sin are afraid;
the defiled people tremble.
They ask, “Who among us can stay with Yahweh’s consuming fire?
Who among us can stay with him, whose altar burns for ever?”

• The people in Zion who sin are stricken with terror;
trembling has gripped those who are impure.
They ask each other:
“Who among us then can remain with Yahweh, the consuming fire?
Who among us then can remain with Yahweh, whose altar always burns?”

• The people in Zion who sin are terribly afraid;
those who are impure are trembling.
They say that surely none of them can live with Yahweh, the consuming fire;
none of them can live with Yahweh, whose altar burns always.

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 .