complete verse (Isaiah 32:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 32:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “Weeds and thornbushes shall grow up in
    those farms of yours.
    Happiness shall come to an end in
    every house in the city that was happy.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “For the fields of our people
    which are sprouting weeds and thorn bushes,
    Yes, for all the houses full of joy
    and for this city of merry-making, lament!” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The land of my people will-be-overgrown with thorny bushes and grass. And the joyful households and happy city will-disappear.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

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 32:13

This verse gives two more reasons why the women should mourn. Their productive soil will produce only weeds, and their homes where they experience joy will be destroyed.

For the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers: The soil of my people refers to the ground that the prophet’s people cultivate. The pronoun my shows that he identifies with them as his fellow citizens. The ground will only grow thorns and briers. For this word pair, see the comments on 5.6 even though a different Hebrew word for thorns is used there.

Yea, for all the joyous houses in the joyful city: The Hebrew particle ki rendered yea is an emphatic marker here. It draws the readers’ attention from the fields to the people’s homes. New Jerusalem Bible renders it simply “and,” but it is better to use an emphatic marker. The women are to mourn not only because their fields will become unproductive, but also because their homes will be destroyed. The joyous houses means their homes are happy places (see the comments at 24.11, where the Hebrew word for joyous is rendered “gladness”). The joyful city refers to the city of Jerusalem as a place where they constantly celebrate (see the comments at 24.8, where the Hebrew word for joyful is translated “jubilant”). Good News Translation says “the city that was full of life,” Revised English Bible has “the bustling city,” and New International Version uses “this city of revelry.”

For the translation of this verse we suggest the following examples:

• … for the ground that my people cultivate,
which will soon have only thorns and briers;
yes, also for the homes in the city of joy,
homes that are now so happy.

• … and the soil that our people work will grow only thorns and briers.
Yes, weep also for happy homes of the joyous city.

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 .