The prophet laments for a righteous man who has died, but the dead person is now free from troubles.

The first two lines of this verse are parallel with the next two. The second and fourth lines both begin with the same Hebrew word rendered no one, which is followed by a participle each time. The last line leads into the thought of verse 2.

The righteous man perishes: The Hebrew word rendered The righteous man is singular and also occurs at the end of the verse to form an inclusio. It probably refers to a specific individual here rather than righteous people in general. However, many versions render it as a plural; for example, “The righteous” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible), “the faithful” (Bible en français courant), and “Good people” (Good News Translation). Translators may use singular or plural. A righteous person is someone who is just and keeps God’s laws (see the comments on 3.10). Perishes means he died. Many versions use present tense here since they make this line a general statement about the death of righteous people (so New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant). However, if a specific person is in view, the past tense is better (see the examples below).

And no one lays it to heart is literally “and there is no one who places [it] on heart.” The prophet laments that nobody seems concerned about the death of the righteous person. New Revised Standard Version provides a more natural rendering in English: “and no one takes it to heart.” New International Version has “and no one ponders it in his heart,” while Revised English Bible says simply “and no one is concerned.”

Devout men are taken away is parallel to the first line. The Hebrew expression rendered devout men (literally “men of loyalty”) is plural. Since it is parallel to The righteous man, this is the main reason why some scholars think the first line also refers to a group rather than to one specific person. The Hebrew word rendered devout (chesed) can refer to loyalty between people, loyalty to God, or even God’s loyalty to his people (see the comments on 16.5, where it is rendered “steadfast love”). In this context devout men probably refers to people who are loyal to God. Revised English Bible says “all who are loyal to their faith.” The Hebrew verb rendered are taken away is literally “are gathered.” It is a polite way of saying these people have died or have been killed (compare Gen 49.29; 2 Kgs 22.20). For languages that prefer to render this passive verb as active one, possible models are “passed away” or “died.”

While no one understands is parallel to the second line of this verse. It is literally “while there is no one who understands.” The prophet laments that nobody understands the significance of the deaths of these loyal people.

For the righteous man is taken away from calamity: When the righteous person died, he was free from troubles. The Hebrew particle ki rendered For is probably not a logical connector here, but an emphatic marker, so it is better translated “Indeed” or “Truly.” The Hebrew verb rendered is taken away is the same one as in the third line. Here it refers not only to the death of the righteous person, but also to removing him from further troubles. The calamity could refer specifically to what led to his death, or more generally to the problems associated with life in this world. There is an exegetical problem with the Hebrew phrase rendered from calamity (literally “from the face/presence of the calamity”). This phrase can mean “from calamity” or “because of calamity.” If it has the second sense, then the whole line means the righteous person died because of some disaster. Bible en français courant expresses this meaning with “Yes, the loyal ones perish, victims of the wicked,” and so does Revised English Bible with “The righteous are swept away by the onset of evil.” Like Revised Standard Version, New International Version follows the first meaning by saying “the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.” Translators may follow either meaning.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• The just person died,
and nobody thought about it;
the faithful ones were killed,
and nobody understood [what that meant];
Truly, the just person has been removed from all trouble.

• The righteous person died,
but nobody took any notice of it;
the loyal ones died,
but nobody understood it;
Indeed, the righteous person died because of some disaster.

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 .