The prophet uses five imperative verbs here, telling the women to lament because of the impending crop failure and the desolation it will cause. Nothing in the passage suggests that the coming disaster is a punishment for their sins, so translators should avoid expressing this idea.

Tremble, you women who are at ease, shudder, you complacent ones: These two parallel lines are synonymous. For women who are at ease and complacent ones, see Isa 32.9; for shudder see verse 10. Since Tremble and shudder are synonymous, Good News Translation combines them by saying “tremble with fear!”

Strip, and make yourselves bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins: These two lines recall the language of 3.17, 24. The prophet tells the women to strip off their fine clothes and replace them with ragged mourning clothes. Strip and make yourselves bare render two synonymous Hebrew verbs. Good News Translation combines them with “Strip off your clothes.” Gird sackcloth upon your loins is literally “wrap on the loins/hips.” RSV/NRSV, New International Version, and New Jerusalem Bible specify the wrapping as “sackcloth” in this context of lament (see 3.24). Bible en français courant is similar with “mourning cloth.” Good News Translation has “rags” to show a contrast with the women’s comfortable life.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Tremble, you women who live so comfortably;
shake with fear, you who are self-confident.
Strip off your clothes,
put cloth for mourning/lament/grief around your waists.

• Tremble, you women who are free from care;
shudder, you who are so confident,
Strip and bare yourselves,
then clothe yourselves with rags.

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 .