For they went forth from you on foot, led away by their enemies: Translators may omit the connector For. The Good News Translation restructuring here is not as successful as usual. It does not hurt, although it may not be necessary, to introduce “Jerusalem” as the one addressed; this was done in the previous verse. But the sentence, “your children were led away by their enemies,” seems to be telling Jerusalem something that she doesn’t already know. But of course she does. The purpose of the restructuring is to remind the reader of the situation, but perhaps it can be done less intrusively by saying “When your children were taken from you, their enemies led them away on foot.”

But God will bring them back to you: The future tense in Revised Standard Version here is misleading. The present tense is used in Greek, and that is what is called for. These words are presented as if the exiles are even now on their way home. Good News Translation has it right with “but God is bringing them back to you.”

Carried in glory, as on a royal throne: Revised Standard Version takes some liberty here, but so do most other versions. The Greek is difficult, and seems to say “carried with glory as a king’s throne.” Whatever the exact wording of the original text may have been, its meaning is surely what Good News Translation expresses with “carried in royal splendor.” This assumes that the point here is the contrast of the honorable return with the people being taken away to captivity in shame. However, in Isa 49.22 and 66.20, there are references to returning exiles being carried, if not actually riding. Translators who see a connection here may want to preserve the reference to a throne, but it is hard to see how this could be done in such a way as to improve on “carried in royal splendor” (Good News Translation) or “with great honor, as if they were kings being carried on beautiful thrones” (Contemporary English Version).

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.