Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Adamawa Fulfulde translation uses the exclusive pronoun, excluding the wounded.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 51:23:
Kupsabiny: “I shall send this trouble to those people who oppress you those who tell you to lie down so they can walk on you, to trample on your backs like one tramples on a road.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I will give that cup to their hands who oppress you. who said to you like this, ‘Lay down, that we may take your body and walk over you.’ And you made your back like the ground and like a path to be walked over.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-give this to the ones-who-cause- you (plur.) -to-suffer, who commanded you (plur.) to-fell-facedown so-that they will-walk on you (plur.). They walked/trampled your (plur.) backs as-if they pass on the road.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
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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.
And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors: The suffering that God removes from the exiles he will place upon their oppressors. The common Hebrew conjunction rendered and has a contrastive sense here, so Contemporary English Version renders it “Instead.” Most modern versions leave it implied. The pronoun it refers to the cup and bowl of verse 22. Placing that cup/bowl into the hands of Judah’s oppressors means that God will punish them for the evil they have done to Judah and he will oppress them in the same way they oppressed Judah. Your tormentors is literally “those who caused you grief/distress.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “your oppressors” (similarly Good News Translation).
Who have said to you introduces what the oppressors said to the people of Judah. Since a command follows, said may be rendered “ordered” (New American Bible) or “commanded” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). To you is literally “to your spirit,” which may indicate that the enemy was not only interested in physical humiliation but also in destroying the personal identity of the exiles.
Bow down that we may pass over: The oppressors humiliated the people of Judah by telling them to lie prostrate on the ground. The Hebrew verb rendered Bow down is used for bowing down or falling to the ground prostrate, either in an act of worship or in humiliation. Here it refers to lying on the ground in humiliation. That we may pass over is the oppressors’ purpose in having their victims bow down. This may be a figurative expression for mistreating their victims. However, the following lines hint that it has a literal sense here. The oppressors told the people of Judah to lie on the ground in order to trample them or ride their chariots over them, a custom well known in the ancient world (see Zech 10.5). For this whole line Revised English Bible has “Lie down for us to walk over you,” and New International Version says “Fall prostrate that we may walk over you.” Bible en français courant uses an idiomatic expression, saying “Flat on the ground, that we may march over you!” For languages that prefer indirect speech for this quote within a quote, see the first example below (see also Good News Translation).
And you have made your back like the ground indicates that the people of Judah did more than simply bow forward when they were being humiliated; rather, their enemies made them lie face down on the ground in order to trample on or ride over their backs. Revised English Bible keeps the graphic imagery here with “You flattened your back like ground beneath their feet.”
And like the street for them to pass over means that the people of Judah were treated as though they were a pathway or street for their enemies to walk over. Their enemies stood on them and walked over them. God will reverse this situation. For this line Revised English Bible has “like a road for them to walk over.”
Good News Translation combines the last two lines of this verse, saying “and trampled on you as if you were dirt.” Bible en français courant also combines them with “And you had to offer your back like the ground of a street to those who marched over you.”
Translation examples for this verse are:
• I will hand the cup to your tormentors,
who ordered you to lie down so that they might walk over you.
And your back became like the ground,
like the street, so that they could walk over you.”
• [Instead] I will pass the cup to those who oppressed you,
who said to you:
‘Lie down so that we can walk over you.’
So you made your back like the ground and the street
for them to walk over you.”
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 .
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