As in verse 10, the inhabitants of Sheol make a speech. In verse 10 they addressed the king of Babylonia, but now they speak to each other, commenting on his arrival. If translators choose to use a direct quote, single quote marks should be used in verses 16b-17 since it is a speech quoted within another speech. Good News Translation adds a paragraph break here since there is a change in speakers, but this is not necessary.

Those who see you will stare at you, and ponder over you: This is similar to the image in verses 8-9 where the dead kings and other leaders were amazed to see the king of Babylonia in their midst. They will stare at the once-mighty emperor and ponder over what has happened to him. The Hebrew text literally says “Those who see you at you they will stare, and over you they will ponder.” In both lines the object comes before the verb, giving it special emphasis. The Hebrew verb rendered ponder is regularly used in parallel with verbs of understanding and insight. Here its rather special form means “to reflect” (so Revised English Bible) or “to think deeply to gain insight.” For the second line New International Version has “they ponder your fate.” Translators may use “they think deeply over you [or, what has happened to you].”

Is this the man who made the earth tremble…?: The words of the people of Sheol, quoted in verses 16b-17, come in the form of a rhetorical question. The first part of the question expresses amazement at seeing the Babylonian king (the man) joining them in Sheol. In languages that do not favor rhetorical questions, translators may render it as a strong statement: “This really then is the man who….” It may also be necessary to divide it into several statements (see the examples for verses 16 and 17). The noun earth is the same term as used in verse 7; see the comments there. The Hebrew verb rendered tremble comes from the same root translated “turmoil” in verse 3 and “stirred up” in verse 9. It is one of the keywords of the chapter.

Who shook kingdoms describes the man further. It is literally “who causes kingdoms to rattle/quake.” It suggests that the Babylonian king grabbed other kingdoms and shook them like someone shaking a small object. It also implies domination and perhaps even anger (see verse 4). Translators should try to find a verb that suggests violent upheavals of kingdoms.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• There [in Sheol] those who see you will stare at you reflecting on what has happened to you. They will ask, ‘Is this the man who caused such turmoil on earth, who shook kingdoms?

• People there will see you. As they stare at you [in amazement], they will ponder your fate and say, ‘This then is the man who caused such turmoil everywhere and made kingdoms to quake!

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 .