The Hebrew particle translated So that usually introduces a relative clause, but here it begins a result clause. New Revised Standard Version renders it “Then.” Like Good News Translation, many other versions omit it.

He who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth: God’s servants will bless themselves in the name of their faithful God. He who blesses himself in the land refers to anyone in the land of Judah who does this, so Good News Translation is better with “Anyone in the land who asks for a blessing” (similarly Revised English Bible), and so is New International Version with “Whoever invokes a blessing in the land.” The phrase the God of truth refers to the faithfulness of God, his trustworthiness and reliability, not that he is merely a God who always tells the truth. When the faithful ask for a blessing for themselves, they will use this new name.

And he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth is closely parallel to the previous two lines. God’s servants will also use the new name the God of truth to make oaths. The Hebrew verb rendered takes an oath and swear means to make a solemn promise (see the comments on 48.1). It could be a promise to tell the truth in a court of law or an oath used to emphasize one’s seriousness when making a religious vow.

Because the former troubles are forgotten and are hid from my eyes: These two parallel lines give the reasons for the use of the new divine name. The meaning of the former troubles depends on who does the forgetting. If it is Yahweh who forgets, then the former troubles could refer to the evils done by his people prior to the exile. This would make the last two lines synonymous in meaning. If it is God’s people who forget, then the former troubles refers to all the suffering of the people of Judah since the Babylonian invasion and the subsequent exile. The people will forget their past suffering because of a newfound joy (verses 14 and 18). Translators may choose either sense here. Are hid from my eyes means Yahweh has closed his eyes to these troubles. He no longer considers them. Like Revised Standard Version, most modern translations choose a fairly literal rendering for these two lines since it is not clear who does the forgetting; for example, New Revised Standard Version has “because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my sight.” Good News Translation opts for a shorter, more idiomatic rendering: “The troubles of the past will be gone and forgotten.” For languages that prefer to render the passive verbs are forgotten and are hid in an active form, a possible model is “because they will forget their former troubles, and I will refuse to look at them [any longer]” (see also the first example below).

Both Bible en français courant and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch consider the last two lines of this verse to be part of the next section. Bible en français courant entitles the next section “A new heaven, a new earth,” and renders verses 16b-17a as follows: “Yes, the misfortunes of the past will be forgotten, they will disappear from before my eyes, says the Lord. 17 Because I am going to create a new heaven….”

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Then those throughout the land who bless themselves
will do so in the name of the Faithful God.
Those in the country who make an oath
will do so in the name of the Faithful God.
For they will forget their former troubles,
and Yahweh will hide these from sight.

• So that those in the land who seek a blessing for themselves
will do so using the name ‘God of Truth.’
Those in the land who make an oath
will do so using the name ‘God of Truth.’
Because their former troubles will be forgotten,
and hidden from my sight.

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 .