Verses 18-23 are unusual in that they consist of a long list of nouns identifying women’s jewelry, clothing, and beauty aids. Just as God will remove every support for the people of Judah (verse 1), so he will take away all these items. Many items in the list are obscure to us today and were already obscure when the Septuagint translators rendered them. Therefore it may be helpful to place a footnote here to let readers know that the translation of some items in the list is uncertain. The list contains items that the women of Judah wore as expressions of wealth, position and beauty, so they were symbols of human pride. We do not know whether the women gained these items at the expense of the poor, so there is no reason to interpret them in that way.
This is probably an exhaustive list of anything beautiful that made the women proud. Translators should try to avoid simplifying or condensing the list unless absolutely necessary. At the same time they should beware of explaining each item with phrases that result in a long description. They should also not repeat the same item twice; for example, using the same term for “headdresses” in verse 20 and “veils” in verse 23.
In that day begins a new subsection of the prophet’s address. Here the phrase indicates that the time period for verses 18-23 is the same time as for verses 16-17. See also the comments on 2.11 and 20.
The Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents: As in verse 17, Lord is the title for God, not his personal name. For the key verb take away, see the comments on Isa 3.1. The Hebrew word translated finery means “object of beauty.” It can have either a positive connotation of beauty and glory (see 4.2) or a negative one of pride and arrogance (see 10.12; 13.19). Here it has a negative connotation. In Hebrew finery is linked to all the other nouns in the list, so the finery of could be placed before each of the 21 items in the list and not just the anklets. A possible way to express this is “the Lord will take away the beauty of so many things, that of the anklets…” or “… take away so many beautiful things: the anklets….” Bible en français courant says “the Lord will deprive them of all that serves them as ornament: the ankle rings….”
Anklets were items of jewelry worn around the ankles. They were normally made of metal. New Jerusalem Bible calls them “ornamental chains,” but this rendering has no necessary connection to the ankle.
Headbands and crescents seem to be items worn on the head. New Jerusalem Bible renders headbands as “medallions,” and Revised English Bible says “discs.” Good News Translation suggests “the ornaments they wear … on their heads.” The major versions also give different translations for crescents. Some other renderings are “crescent necklaces” (New International Version) and “ornaments they wear … on their necks” (Good News Translation). For headbands Bible en français courant has a footnote saying “Or jewelry in the shape of the sun.” This probably explains why New American Bible renders headbands as “sunbursts,” which pairs nicely with crescents, the traditional shape of a half-moon.
As noted above, there is an obvious problem in identifying some of the objects in this list, and even if they are identified, it may be difficult to find equivalents in the receptor language. For these reasons some translators may wish to follow the models of Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version. These versions simply list the various parts of the body on which the items are worn. For verses 18-23 Contemporary English Version has “When that day comes, I will take away from those women all the fine jewelry they wear on their ankles, heads, necks, ears, arms, noses, fingers, and on their clothes. I will remove their veils, their belts, their perfume, their magic charms, their royal robes, and all their fancy dresses, hats, and purses.” Like Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version makes no attempt to identify each of the items in verses 18-23. While this may not be the ideal, it does recognize the problem of translating such a list. The problem is not a new one. The Septuagint translators substituted a list of common terms taken from their own cultural setting. If translators follow the Septuagint by doing this, they should use terms that fit as closely as possible with the discussion on each of these items.
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 .