complete verse (Isaiah 14:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 14:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “Those who see you will stare at you,
    and ask themselves,
    ‘So is this the person who disturbed countries
    and made kings tremble?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Those who have died will look at you carefully
    and question [lit.: ask] you like this,
    "What! This isn’t the one who shook the earth
    and threatened kingdom after kingdom, is it?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The dead-ones will-look-closely at you (sing.) and they will-say, ‘It is not so that this is the man who shook the people of the earth and made- the kingdoms -terrified?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The other dead people there stare at you;
    they wonder what happened to you.
    They say, ‘Is this the man who caused the earth to shake
    and caused the people in many kingdoms to tremble?” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 14:16

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 .