complete verse (Isaiah 21:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 21:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “God said to me,
    ‘Appoint a guard,
    and tell (him) to announce what he sees.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The LORD spoke to me like this,
    "Go, put out a sentinel.
    Whatever he sees let him report it [lit.: tell about it].” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD said to me, ‘You (sing.) put/place a guard in the city, and have- him -tell what he sees.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then Yahweh said to me,
    ‘Put a watchman on the wall of Jerusalem,
    and tell him to shout/proclaim what he sees.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 21:6

With this verse the scene changes abruptly from the dining room of the Babylonian officers to the place from where the prophet is observing events.

For thus the Lord said to me is a standard prophetic phrase introducing divine speech (see the comments on 7.7). For translates the Hebrew particle ki, which functions here as a emphatic marker (especially for those who link verse 5 with verse 1-4; see the introductory comments on this section [21.1-10]) or as a logical connector (especially for those who link verse 5 with verses 6-10). Many versions do not translate it. Good News Translation renders it “Then” to show that the Lord’s order here follows the events described in verse 5. The Lord is not the divine name Yahweh, but the title meaning “my master” (see 1.2).

Go, set a watchman is literally “Go, cause a watchman to stand.” The Lord orders the prophet to appoint a watchman. The verb Go serves the same function as “Arise” in the previous verse (see the comments there). It may be meant literally or it may be used simply to introduce the action of appointing a watchman. A watchman was a guard who kept watch from the top of a city wall to warn the inhabitants when people were approaching and to pass on news from messengers. Here he may be appointed to watch for messengers coming to Judah from the battlefield or to watch the battle scene unfolding before him (see the introductory comments on verses 5-10). The Hebrew word rendered watchman comes from the same root as the word for “spread” in verse 5, but here it has the sense of “keep watch.”

Let him announce what he sees is literally “what he will see let him announce.” The Hebrew text gives prominence to the object “what he will see” by placing it before the verb. Some languages will prefer to retain the Hebrew order and say “What he sees, let him announce it!”

For the translation of this verse we can say:

• Indeed, this is what the Lord said to me:
“Go, have a watchman stand guard.
Have him announce whatever he sees!

• Because this is what the Lord said to me:
“Set up someone to keep watch!
Whatever he sees, he should announce [it to all]!

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 .