complete verse (Isaiah 9:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 9:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “The boots of soldiers will be burned
    and the clothes that ooze blood.
    All shall burn like dry firewood.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “All the leather shoes of the soldiers in battle
    and [their] blood-stained clothing will be completely burned [in the] fire.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They also will-rejoice because the war will- now -stop. The uniforms of the soldiers that were-soaked with blood will-be-burned-up, including their boots.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The boots that the enemy soldiers have worn
    and their clothing which has stains of blood on them
    will all be burned up;
    they will only be fuel for a big fire.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 9:5

For …: This is the second explanatory sentence in this section. Again For may be rendered “Because.” The poet develops the ideas of the preceding verses. The people rejoice that the battle has ended. The burning of the soldiers’ battle dress signals this.

Every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult: Two items of clothing worn by soldiers are referred to here: boots and garments. Boot of the tramping warrior is literally “boot of the one wearing the boot” or “boot of the booted one.” The noun boot and the participle tramping come from the same Hebrew root. The noun warrior (Good News Translation “army”) is added to explain the meaning of this phrase. The Hebrew word rendered battle tumult presents a slight problem because it can mean “wickedness” (so NJPSV footnote|prj:NJPS.Isa 9.4) or “quaking/shaking/fearsome noise.” A good rendering for it in this context is “fierce battle.” Good News Translation simply renders it “invading.” For this whole line Revised English Bible uses vivid language: “The boots of earth-shaking armies on the march.”

Every garment rolled in blood describes poetically the bloodstained clothes of the soldiers. They are so stained in bloody battle that they appear to be rolled or dipped in blood. A possible rendering is “all soldiers’ uniforms/clothes stained with blood.”

Will be burned as fuel for the fire is literally “and it will be for burning, food of fire.” This simply means the clothes of the soldiers will be burned. The passive verb here may require an active form in some languages. If so, the agent will need to be identified. Rather than having God as the agent, we may begin the verse with “They [or, People] will burn….” Even though this main verb phrase occurs at the end of the verse, some languages will need to place it first.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• They will burn all the soldiers’ boots that stomped into fierce battle,
and all their blood-soaked garments they will feed to the fire.

• The boots of warriors going to battle and their blood-stained clothes,
all will be fed into the fire.

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 .