land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali . . .

For the phrase “land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined,” see Matthew 4:15 and Matthew 4:16.

gentiles / nations

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).

Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).

In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also nations.

complete verse (Isaiah 9:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 9:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “Those people who walk in darkness
    will see a great light.
    Light will come to
    those people who live in a land that is covered by the darkness of death.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The people who are living in this very dark
    place are about to see a great light.
    Those who are living in a land of deep darkness.
    to see this great light."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The people there who were-darkened will-see an intense light. Those who were-darkened who are-afraid to die will-be-lightened/enlightened.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Some day, it will be as though the people who walked in darkness will see a great light.
    A great light will shine on those who live in a land where they have great troubles/distress.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light: The people is a general expression, and it is not clarified further. It probably refers to the people of Judah and Israel, but translators should use a general term. Contemporary English Version simply begins with “Those who walked….” The idiom walked in darkness tells of a time during which they lived under oppression. Have seen a great light is another idiom, meaning they have experienced rescue from that time of trouble. The adjective great may be rendered “bright” without detracting from the figure. The use of figurative language in this poetic section should be kept. These figures are probably sufficiently universal, so that translators do not need to clarify them.

Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them has light dawned: These two lines are parallel with the first two lines. Deep darkness renders the Hebrew noun tsalmoth. Masoretic Text has the Hebrew phrase tsal-maweth, which is literally “shadow of death” (New International Version; similarly New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible). These two Hebrew expressions have the same consonants, and they both are figures representing a time of oppression and trouble. Translators may use either figure here.

For the translation of this verse we suggest:

• The people who walked in the dark
have now seen a bright light;
on those living in a land under deep darkness
the light has shone.

If the figurative language needs to be spelled out for clarity, then we may say:

• The people who lived under oppression
have seen the light of better times.
That light has shone
on those who lived in fear of death.

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 .