With the connector For the first half of this verse provides the reason for the dreadful future mentioned in the previous verse. The connector therefore introduces further punishment that will come (verses 10b-11). These two connectors are important markers in the discourse. Many versions, however, do not show that verses 9-11 are a unit. Some of these versions render the initial connector of verse 10 as an emphatic particle (ki in Hebrew); for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh begins the verse with “Truly.” Good News Translation omits both connectors. Revised Standard Version and many other versions leave a blank line between verses 9 and 10, and also show that there is a break by changing from prose style in verse 9 to poetry in verses 10-11. Translators should follow the latest scholarly view that verse 10 is central to verses 9-11; there should be no break between these verses.
The prophet makes two charges in the first half of verse 10. The first charge uses the verb “forget,” the second one its parallel “not remember.” Each verb has an object. The Hebrew syntax of the first two lines shows a chiasmus: verb > object > < object < verb. The pronouns you and your in verses 10-11 are second person feminine singular in Hebrew. They are probably a poetic reference to the land of Israel since “land” is feminine in Hebrew. Good News Translation indicates this clearly by beginning with the addressee “Israel.” Translators can also use second person plural pronouns and identify the addressees as “You people of Israel.”
You have forgotten the God of your salvation: The verb have forgotten does not point to a simple lapse of memory, but implies that Israel abandoned the worship of God (compare Jer 3.21). All the versions consulted use the verb “forget,” assuming that the implied deeper meaning is understood. God of your salvation may be rendered “the God who saved you,” “… who saves you” (Contemporary English Version), or “… who rescues you” (Good News Translation). “God your Savior” is another possibility. The context does not tell us the specific danger Israel was saved from. The wider background is the Exodus experience in which God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt and brought them to Canaan.
And have not remembered the Rock of your refuge: This line is parallel to the previous one. It refers to Israel’s failure to honor God for what he has done. Speaking of God as the Rock is a well-known Old Testament figure of speech (see 26.4; 30.29; 44.8; Gen 49.24; Psa 18.31; 89.26). The Rock is a figure for something solid that offers protection. Contemporary English Version explains the use of this figure in a footnote here: “The Hebrew text has ‘rock,’ which is sometimes used in poetry to compare the Lord to a mountain where his people can run for protection from their enemies.” The Rock of your refuge may be rendered “the Rock that offers you protection.” Languages that have only one word for “pebble/stone/rock” regardless of size may have a problem rendering this line. One possibility is “and you have not remembered God, who is like a big mountain for you, where you can flee in time of trouble.”
The connector therefore begins a long and complex sentence that ends with verse 11. It introduces further consequences of Israel’s failures. Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch divide this sentence into three smaller ones, which may be helpful for other languages.
Though you plant pleasant plants begins a description of Israel’s unfaithfulness. The connector though is implied in the Hebrew. The Hebrew expression rendered pleasant plants can have a variety of meanings; the Hebrew term for pleasant can also mean “beloved” or “beauty.” It has been linked with a ritual practiced by the Syrians, the Phoenicians, and then the Greeks. It was a ritual in which cuttings from a plant were planted with the expectation that they would grow very quickly, thus signifying life and fertility for the person who planted them. In the Greek period it was known as the Adonis ritual. So Revised English Bible has “your gardens in honour of Adonis,” which we do not recommend. Bible en français courant says “the plantations for the god who charms” with a footnote about “gardens of Adonis.” Other renderings are “pleasure-gardens” (New Jerusalem Bible), “a delightful sapling” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “your pagan plants” (New American Bible). New International Version provides a good model with “the finest plants.”
And set out slips of an alien god: This line is parallel with the previous one. Set out means “to plant.” Slips are cuttings from a healthy plant which are planted in the hope that they will take root and grow. Slips of an alien god clearly shows that there is a religious ritual involving dedication to a foreign god. An alien god is a god worshiped by non-Israelites. The Israelites were worshiping gods served by other nations.
The last two clauses of this verse are so closely linked that several versions combine them into one. Good News Translation is a good example. Contemporary English Version is even simpler with “You plant the finest flowers to honor a foreign god.”
Translation examples for this verse are:
• … since you have rejected the God who rescued you and have not given thought to God, the Rock who protected you. Instead, you plant beautiful plants and cuttings that are part of your worship of foreign gods.
• … because you cast from your mind the God who rescued you and ignored all thought of God [the Rock] your protector. So when you plant lovely plants and cuttings as part of your ritual for foreign gods….
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 .