Shout, and sing for joy: This double call to sing out loud adds force to the earlier verses. Some languages may need to clarify the verb Shout. It is not a warning shout or simply an uncontrolled calling out, but in the present context it means “give praise loudly.” The next verb sing is synonymous. The phrase for joy is not in the Hebrew (see Good News Translation) but seems implicit. The second verb has a wide variety of meanings, so we depend on the context to render its sense adequately. The two verbs together picture a people joyously praising God. Revised English Bible says “Cry out, shout aloud,” which retains the more general senses of both verbs. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh combines the two verbs into one expression: “shout for joy.” O inhabitant of Zion identifies those being addressed. The singular feminine form of the word inhabitant in Hebrew is a collective, so it may be rendered “inhabitants” or “people.” The use of the feminine form is probably due to the fact that a city is grammatically feminine in Hebrew. For Zion see 1.8.

For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel: Some of the possible meanings for the Hebrew adjective rendered great are “powerful,” “large,” and “vast.” In your midst means that this powerful God is not only present among his people, but he is also working actively for them. For the Holy One of Israel, see the comments on 1.4.

Some translation suggestions for this verse are:

• Shout and sing out, you who live in Zion,
for the Holy One of Israel’s presence with you is powerful.

• Call out and shout [for joy], you people of Jerusalem;
great is the Holy One of Israel who is present among you!

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 .