complete verse (Isaiah 21:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 21:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “My heart is jumping
    and I began to tremble.
    I used to wait for the day to end and I go to sleep,
    but when the day ends I am again much afraid.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “My heart had gotten out of control.
    Being afraid, I have been trembling and trembling.
    The evening time that I had been longing for —
    even that had become a threatening [lit.: dangerous] terror for me.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “My chest beats, and I tremble with fear. I can- not -rest at night, for I am still nervous.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I cannot think straight/correctly, and I tremble.
    I was eager for it to be nighttime,
    but now it is night, and I am horrified.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 21:4

This verse continues to describe the impact of the vision on the prophet.

My mind reels, horror has appalled me: Mind is literally “heart,” which is where thinking takes place in Hebrew. The verb reels describes someone or something that is unstable, such as a person stumbling. My mind reels means the prophet cannot control his thinking. In English it may be rendered “I can’t think straight any longer” or “My head is spinning” (Good News Translation). Horror has appalled me (literally “shuddering has terrified me”) gives the reason for the uncontrolled thoughts. The prophet shakes with fear at what he saw. New International Version puts it this way: “fear makes me tremble” (similarly Good News Translation). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh suggests “I shudder in panic.”

The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling describes a hope that was dashed. What should have been a pleasant evening turned into a nightmare. Twilight is a term for the early evening (Revised English Bible “evening cool”), when the sun has just set. The prophet had looked forward to this time, at the end of the day. The peace and calm of the evening has instead become for him a time of trembling. The Hebrew is literally “the twilight of my desire he/it has made for me for trembling.” The subject “he/it” is not identified, which may be why Revised Standard Version prefers a passive construction (has been turned). The subject could be the vision or Yahweh who sent the vision. New International Version uses an active verb here without identifying the agent: “the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.”

Translation examples for this verse are:

• My mind is in turmoil, fear makes me shudder;
the quiet evening I desired, the LORD has caused to terrify me.

• My mind is utterly confused, I shudder with fear;
the twilight I wished for has become for me a time of terror.

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 .