complete verse (Isaiah 28:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 28:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “God shall be speaking to them with/in the language of other people
    so that they can open/scoop/dewax their ears.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If it is like this, the LORD will speak [to you] by the mouths of foreigners
    and by people who speak a language [you] do not understand.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Because they would- not -listen, the LORD will-speak to these people through to those who-came-from different places with different language.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“speak”)

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, kata-rare-ru (語られる) or “speak” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Isaiah 28:11

In verses 11-13 the prophet responds with irony to the drunken leaders of Israel. He warns them that God will speak to them in a foreign language. It will be the language of their conquerors, the Assyrians, since they will be God’s agents. The strange-sounding Assyrian language will sound like the baby talk the Israelite leaders accused the prophet of speaking.

Nay, but by men of strange lips and with an alien tongue: Nay renders the emphatic Hebrew particle ki, which may also be translated “Indeed” or “Truly” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). According to BDB, the Hebrew adjective rendered strange may mean “mocking,” “stammering” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “barbarous” (Revised English Bible). It comes from a root meaning “to mock.” The only other place it occurs is Psa 35.16. Translators may choose any of the meanings suggested by BDB. For those who choose “stammering,” it does not mean the Assyrians stammered when they spoke, but the Israelites perceived them in this way since they spoke a foreign language. An alien tongue (literally “another tongue”) clearly refers to a foreign language. For men of strange lips and an alien tongue, translators should find a natural way of referring to a strange-sounding language, spoken by foreigners, as in Good News Translation. Bible en français courant has “an unintelligible form of speech in a strange language.”

The LORD will speak to this people is literally “he will speak to this people.” Revised Standard Version makes it explicit that the pronoun “he” refers to the LORD (also Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), which is clear from verse 13. Good News Translation and New International Version are similar with “God.” For clarity it may be best for translators to identify “the LORD” or “God” as the subject here. This people refers to the Israelite leaders in a detached manner (see 6.9). Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch change this third person reference and the third person pronouns in verses 12-13 to second person pronouns, so that the prophet addresses the leaders directly, but we do not recommend this.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Indeed, Yahweh will address this people through those who speak a foreign language as if they are stammering.

• Truly, with a mocking and alien language Yahweh will speak to this people.

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 .