Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: The connector Therefore introduces the consequences of Judah’s rebellious behavior, which is detailed in verses 9-11. New Jerusalem Bible uses “So.” Thus says the Holy One of Israel is a standard formula to begin a speech of God, which extends here through verse 14. The prophet uses the title the Holy One of Israel in response to the people’s use of it in the previous verse.

The connector Because introduces a summary of the people’s rebellion, which consists of three clauses. As noted before, it is typical for Isaiah to use three or four expressions to describe a situation. The first clause is you despise this word. For the Hebrew verb rendered despise, see 5.24, where it is translated “rejected.” It conveys the idea of refusing to believe or accept something. Good News Translation renders it “ignore,” but this is too weak in the context. This word refers to what God told his people. He told them that they should not place their faith in a treaty in which Egypt promises its help. This word may be rendered “my message” or “what I have told you.” Revised English Bible expresses it well with “this warning.”

And trust in oppression and perverseness: Oppression may refer to harshness toward the poor. Some believe it refers to oppressive leaders in Judah or Egypt’s overbearing treatment of Judah, but this is unlikely. Since it is not clear what oppression is in view here, translators should render it fairly literally. The Hebrew word for perverseness is a verb. It describes a person who acts deceitfully. See Pro 14.2, where it is rendered “devious.” A possible model for this whole line is “and put your trust in oppressive and dishonest practices” (similarly Revised English Bible).

And rely on them is parallel and synonymous with the previous line, so Good News Translation combines them. For the Hebrew verb rendered rely on, see 10.20, where it is translated “lean upon.” The pronoun them is literally “it,” but it seems to have a collective sense here, referring back to oppression and perverseness. So Revised English Bible renders the last two lines as “and put your trust in devious and dishonest practices on which you lean for support.” New International Version divides these lines slightly differently, saying “relied on oppression and depended on deceit.”

The last three lines of this verse give the reasons for the consequences in the next two verses. Some languages may require that verses 12-14 be reordered so that the reasons follow the consequences. It may also be possible to follow the original order by simply omitting the connector Because that introduces the reasons (see the first example below).

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• So Yahweh the Holy One of Israel says:
“You have rejected my message,
and trust oppressive and perverse means,
relying on them.

• Therefore Israel’s Holy One says:
“Because you have rejected this warning,
and put your trust in oppression and crooked ways,
and relied on such things….

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 .