complete verse (Isaiah 21:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 21:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “This is the message/news about the country of Babylon.
    Enemies who come from the desert will attack you,
    Those people will attack like a whirlwind.
    Those enemies come from an amazingly fierce country.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The prophecy concerning wilderness by bank of the sea:
    Like a whirlwind comes into the desert,
    from one land of dangerous great destruction is about to come.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “This message is concerning Babilonia.
    The enemies will attack like a whirlwind passing through Negev. This will come from the desolate-place, from the terrifying land.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I received this message from Yahweh about Babylonia, a land that is near the Persian Gulf but which will soon be a desert.
    An army will soon come from the desert to invade that land;
    it is an army that causes its enemies to be terrified,
    an army that will come like a whirlwind from the south.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 21:1

The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea: For this title of the oracle see the introductory comments on this section [21.1-10]. We suggest a fairly literal rendering as in Revised Standard Version, but with a footnote indicating the likely meaning. Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch do not use a footnote, but in their text they refer explicitly to “Babylonia” as the country in view. For oracle see the introductory comments on 13.1—23.18. Wilderness translates a Hebrew word rendered elsewhere as “desert” (see the comments on 14.17). Here it refers to an area on the edge of settled land.

As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on, it comes from the desert, from a terrible land: This is the beginning of the oracle itself. Something (it) is compared with the strong hot winds that blow in the Negeb. What is it? This pronoun could refer to the “stern vision” of verse 2. The vision strikes the prophet like a burning desert wind, causing his response described in verses 3-4. This understanding is reflected in New American Bible, which says, “Like whirlwinds sweeping in waves through the Negeb, there comes from the desert, from the fearful land, 2 A cruel sight, revealed to me….” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar with “As a whirlwind that sweeps across the southern land, so it comes forth out of the desert, out of the fearsome land! 2 It is horrible, what God let me see and hear….” Others render the third person pronoun here as “he” (New Jerusalem Bible), or they spell it out as “an invader,” “Enemies” (Contemporary English Version; similarly Bible en français courant), or “disaster” (Good News Translation). We prefer a translation similar to that of New American Bible or Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch.

Whirlwinds occur in hot dry areas. They do not carry rain. Perhaps “dust storms” is a better rendering. See 5.28 and 17.13, where the Hebrew term here is rendered “storm.” The Negeb is a desert-like area in the south of Israel. New International Version says “the southland,” but it is better to keep the name Negeb (or, Negev) since it is still used today. A footnote should be added to explain that it is like a desert. A map may also be helpful to show its location. The Hebrew verb rendered sweep on comes from a root that is used in Job 20.24 to describe something that “pierces.” So whirlwinds that sweep on are piercing winds that, figuratively speaking, blow right through people. The imagery here is very vivid and powerful.

The desert is not the Negeb, but the area from which the terrifying vision is coming. The Hebrew word for desert is the same as the one for wilderness. It is the kind of area in which hot winds emerge. It is described as a terrible land, that is, a region that is terrifying. It causes terror in people.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• The oracle concerning the desert by the sea.
Like whirlwinds that pierce in the Negeb,
there it comes from the desert, from the terrifying land.

• An oracle about the wilderness by the sea.
Just like the Negev’s windstorms that cut through someone,
from the wilderness, from the terrifying land it comes.

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 .