The connector For introduces why the Israelites will no longer feel shame. They will see what Yahweh has done and honor him.

When he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst: The pronouns he and his refer back to “Jacob,” that is, the people of Israel, in the previous verse. So these singular pronouns have a collective sense and may be rendered as plural pronouns. The second half of the verse uses plural pronouns for the Israelites.

There are two primary interpretations of the first two lines of this verse. For some these lines mean the people of Israel will see their children, whom the LORD has created, in their midst. New International Version expresses this sense by saying “When they see among them their children, the work of my hands” (similarly Good News Translation). For others these lines mean the descendants of the Israelites will see what the LORD will do among them; for example, Bible en français courant has “When they or their children will in fact see what I will do among them.” We prefer the second interpretation, but translators may follow either one.

They will sanctify my name: This response of the people is the climax of the section. This line is parallel and synonymous with the next two lines. The Hebrew root qdsh (“holy”) occurs three times in this verse (rendered sanctify twice and Holy One once), so it is a key term. The Hebrew verb rendered sanctify usually means “to set aside/treat as holy,” but here it means “to honor” with my name as the object. My name refers to Yahweh himself, not just his name, so this line may be rendered “they will honor me.”

They will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob: This is the only time the Holy One of Jacob occurs in Isaiah. For this expression see the comments on “the Holy One of Israel” at 1.4 and “the God of Jacob” at 2.3. Since God is speaking here, Good News Translation refers to him in the first person in this line and the next one. Other languages may find this helpful (see the second example below).

And will stand in awe of the God of Israel: The Hebrew verb rendered stand in awe refers to the humility and apprehension that a person feels before a great and awesome power. Stand in awe is an English idiom. Other possible renderings are “be in awe” and “show deep respect.” For the God of Israel, see the comment on 17.6.

Some translation examples for this verse are:

• Because when they see their descendants whom I have created among them,
they will honor me;
they will honor the Holy One of Jacob,
and will show deep respect for the God of Israel.

• For when their descendants see what I will do in their midst,
they will honor me;
they will honor me, the Holy One of Jacob,
they will be in awe of me, Israel’s God.

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 .