The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish: Zoan was a town in the northeastern part of the Nile Delta region, close to Judah’s border. It was a major city during the first millennium B.C. and down into Roman times (see Num 13.22; Psa 78.12, 43). It was also known by the name “Tanis” (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Its princes were its court officials, not necessarily the sons of kings, so Good News Translation says “leaders” (see the comments on 1.23). They are described as utterly foolish. The Hebrew text of this line is literally “Surely fools the princes of Zoan” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). “Surely” highlights the truth of this statement. Good News Translation expresses the emphasis well with an exclamation mark.
The wise counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel: Pharaoh is the title of the Egyptian king. Translators can borrow this term if it is well known (so Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), or they may say “the Egyptian king” (similarly Good News Translation, New Century Version). Since this line is parallel with the previous line, the wise counselors of Pharaoh are probably the same as The princes of Zoan. They gave practical advice to the king on all matters, including national policy. In this context the adjective wise is ironic, since the text says that they give stupid counsel. If it is not clear that this is irony, the line may be rendered “The counselors of Pharaoh think they are wise, but [in fact] they give stupid counsel.”
How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings”?: The pronoun you is masculine plural in Hebrew, so the prophet is addressing Pharaoh’s advisers here. The sense of this rhetorical question is that their claim to be wise people is completely unjustified. If necessary, the question can be made into a strong statement: “You should not say…” or “You have no grounds for saying….” The direct quote here can also be made indirect, as Good News Translation does. The requirements of style and naturalness in a language will determine this.
Each counselor claims that he is a son of the wise. (In Hebrew the word for wise is plural.) This could mean their fathers are wise, but it more likely means they are students or disciples of wise teachers. In the book of Proverbs the word son often means “student” (see, for example, Pro 2.1; 3.1). However, Revised English Bible says “I am descended from wise men” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant), which gives the impression that this is a father-son relationship. New American Bible is better with “I am a disciple of wise men.” Another possible model is “I am a member of the guild of wise men.”
A son of ancient kings is parallel to the previous line, so son probably has the same sense here. New International Version says “a disciple of the ancient kings.” However, it could mean “descendant” here, which Contemporary English Version expresses with “our families go back to kings of long ago.” The Hebrew word rendered ancient (qedem) is ambiguous here. It could mean “east” or “before,” in the sense of “in previous times.” The wisdom of kings from the East was well known (see the comments on 2.6), but so was the wisdom of the Egyptian kings. In fact, most kings were considered to be wise (for Israel, King Solomon was the greatest example). Wise people learned from the wisdom of past kings. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh prefers “Kedemite kings,” which means “kings from the East,” but most other versions prefer a translation in the sense of ancient kings. Since the meaning of this phrase is uncertain, translators have a choice.
Translation examples for this verse are:
• Utter fools are the princes of the city of Zoan,
Pharaoh’s [so-called] wise counselors offer stupid advice.
How dare you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a disciple of the wise men,
a descendant of the ancient kings?”
• The officials in the city of Zoan are utter fools,
the Egyptian king’s wise advisers offer stupid advice.
Yet they dare to say to him that they are disciples of the sages,
and of the kings of the East!
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 .