complete verse (Isaiah 22:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 22:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “God shall take your work from you
    and pull you down from where you were.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The LORD says like this, "I will remove you from your position
    and I will bring you down from your great place."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD says to you (sing.), ‘I will-cause- you (sing.) -to-leave from your (sing.) work!” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Yahweh will force you to quit working in the palace;
    you will be demoted from your important position.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 22:19

I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station: The LORD will remove Shebna from his position as royal steward. There is a pronoun problem in this verse. These words are part of the speech that the LORD has ordered the prophet to deliver to Shebna (see verse 15). The Hebrew is literally “I will thrust you from your office, and from your station he will cast you down.” The pronouns “I” and “he” both refer to the LORD. Changing pronouns for the same referent is typical in Hebrew poetry, and does not have exegetical significance. So there is no need to alter the Hebrew text to read “… I will cast you down,” as some scholars suggest. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends keeping the Masoretic Text reading with the pronoun “he,” but then surprisingly identifies the referent for this pronoun as the “master” of verse 18. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch reflects this understanding by rendering this verse as “That is why the king will chase you from your office, he will pull you down from your high post.” However, the context supports Yahweh as the actor here, not the king. New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, and New American Bible refer to Yahweh in the first person throughout this verse. Revised Standard Version uses the passive expression you will be cast down to avoid the problem (similarly New International Version “you will be ousted”), but this is not possible in languages that require active verbs. Good News Translation replaces the pronoun “I” with “The LORD.” This is an attractive solution since the prophet has been referring to the LORD in the third person in verses 17-18. For the whole verse Bible en français courant is helpful with “I will chase you from your position, says the Lord, I will tear you away from your post.” The clause “says the Lord” clearly identifies who is speaking here. It also prepares for the LORD’s speech in verses 20-25.

The two clauses in this verse are parallel, but they have a chiastic structure in Hebrew: thrust you > from your office > < from your station < cast you down. I will thrust you from your office means Yahweh will remove Shebna from his position as steward. It continues the theme of rejection begun in verse 17. You will be cast down from your station is figurative language for Shebna’s demotion. The Hebrew noun rendered station refers to his position in society, his rank. Shebna will be pulled down from his present high position in Jerusalem society.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• I will drive you from office and remove you from your position.

• I will remove you from office, and from your position I will pull you down.

• The LORD will chase you from your function/office, he will pull you down from your high position.

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 .