This shall be the sign for you: The pronoun you refers to Hezekiah here. In most languages it will be wise to make this clear since readers are likely to think that God is still speaking to Sennacherib through the prophet Isaiah. Good News Translation and New Living Translation do this by adding the following words at the beginning of this verse: “Then Isaiah said to [King] Hezekiah….” Contemporary English Version, on the other hand, includes this information within the quotation by addressing Hezekiah directly.

For the word sign, see the comments at 1 Kgs 13.3. Although a different Hebrew word is used in that case, the meaning is quite similar. But compare also 1 Sam 2.34 and 14.10. The meaning of the whole clause here may be expressed as “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth” (NET Bible).

You shall eat: Instead of the Hebrew verb form translated here as a future tense in English, the parallel passage in Isa 37.30 has the imperative “eat.” But the meaning seems to be the same.

What grows of itself: The Hebrew word on which this rendering is based refers to things that grow spontaneously without the efforts of a human cultivator. In addition to the parallel text in Isaiah, the term also appears in Lev 25.5 and 11, where instructions are given about not eating such crops. But here they are to be eaten. The use of the word “wild” (Good News Translation, New Century Version) may be misleading. In some languages the best translation may be something like “crops which no person planted.” The reference is to grain that fell accidentally on the ground at the time of harvest and then sprouted and grew on its own.

What springs of the same: This is a translation of another single Hebrew word. It occurs only here and in the parallel text in Isa 37.30. It seems to refer to the offspring of the spontaneous crops of the previous year. So the second year would be like the first in that the results of the Assyrian destruction of the land would still be felt. A possible translation of this might be “whatever the land produces alone again.”

Then in the third year …: The common Hebrew conjunction here is rendered then. However, it may be better translated as a contrasting conjunction in certain languages since there is a contrast between agricultural inactivity during the first two years and the planting and reaping that would take place during the third year. The word “but” is used by New International Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible.

In the third year refers to the next year after two years of not planting and tending crops.

Sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit: The verbs rendered sow, reap, plant and eat are plural in Hebrew, referring not just to Hezekiah but to the people in general. In some languages it may be necessary to provide objects for the verbs sow and reap. NET Bible says “you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.” For vineyards see the comments at 1 Kgs 21.1.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .