The Lord has sent a word against Jacob: All the versions consulted use a perfect verb tense here. The word in this context refers to a message of judgment, a warning, so Contemporary English Version says “The Lord has warned….” On the other hand, the Hebrew term for word (dabar) can also mean “matter” or “thing.” So several commentators see here a reference to an actual event rather than a message, saying “The Lord has sent something against…,” meaning that the Lord has caused some event to take place as a judgment on Israel. The Septuagint understands the Hebrew word here to have different vowels with the meaning “pestilence/plague” (deber). Most versions understand Masoretic Text to refer to word.

The Lord is not the divine name Yahweh, but the title meaning “my master” (see 1.2). Jacob (see 2.3, 5) is often parallel to Israel in this book, this being the first example. Jacob normally refers to all the people who have Jacob as their ancestor. Jacob or Israel can refer to the undivided nation of Israel as a whole, or to northern kingdom only. Here it refers to the northern kingdom of Israel since “Ephraim” and “Samaria” are mentioned in the next verse. Good News Translation makes this clear by saying “the kingdom of Israel”; it also places “Israel” before “Jacob” since “Israel” is the better-known name.

And it will light upon Israel is literally “and it has fallen on Israel,” which has a connotation of judgment in this context. Since this clause is parallel to the previous one, it should also be rendered with a past tense verb (so Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). New Revised Standard Version corrects Revised Standard Version by saying “and it fell on Israel.” Modern readers may misunderstand the archaic-sounding English verb light upon. For this clause Bible en français courant is literal with “it [the word] has fallen on the kingdom of Israel.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is quite explicit by rendering the verse as follows: “The Lord has pronounced his judgment over the land of Israel, wholeheartedly has he struck the descendants of Jacob.”

Translation examples for this verse are:

• The Master has pronounced judgment on Jacob’s descendants, and it has fallen on Israel.

• The Lord issued a threat against Jacob; it has come upon the land of Israel.

• The Master has brought an action against Jacob; it has come upon Israel.

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 .