He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples: The conflicts between nations will be settled by Yahweh’s intervention. This verse continues the thought of verse 3. The verbs judge and decide are legal terms. They are directly related to Yahweh’s teaching and word, which proceed from Zion where he dwells in his Temple (verse 3). Judge may be rendered “be a judge” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), “settle disputes” (Good News Translation), or “settle arguments” (Contemporary English Version). The verb decide is a synonym for judge. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “arbitrate,” and Bible en français courant says “be a referee.”

As noted earlier, the phrases the nations and many peoples form an inclusio for verses 2-4. As in verse 3, many is poetic and refers to all nations. The first two lines of this verse are different from the parallel text in Micah 4.3. Here we have the nations parallel to many peoples, while in Micah “many peoples” is parallel to “strong nations afar off.” The words “strong” and “afar off” in Micah should not be added in Isaiah.

The last four lines of this verse depict what will happen when Yahweh settles disputes between warring peoples. War will not occur again. Isaiah pictures an idyllic scene in which metal weapons are turned into farming tools, a picture of peace between peoples. There is a reversal of this imagery in Joel 3.10, where farming tools are turned into weapons. So the metaphors about weapons and farm implements probably come from a traditional saying rather than from Isaiah or Micah originally.

They shall beat their swords into plowshares: The verb beat refers to the work of the blacksmith, hammering heated metal into the required shape. Here blacksmiths heat weapons above the fire and hammer them into farm tools. If a verb exists for this work of the blacksmith, translators should use it, rather than a general word for beat. The basic “sword” was a long, straight, pointed, two-edged piece of metal with a handle. It could cut and stab. Jdg 3.16 speaks of a sword that was about 18 inches (or, 45 centimeters) long, but swords were normally longer than that. Israelite plows were made of wood and had metal tips that fitted onto wooden prongs. Plowshares are these metal tips. A sword and a plow tip are close enough in size for the image here to be appropriate in Hebrew. Good News Translation suggests “plows,” but this causes a problem because a Western-type plow is massive in comparison with a sword. For many cultures a “hoe” would be much more appropriate in size, and probably also much better known. Such an adjustment is possible here, but a translator might first consider “plow tip” as a new expression.

And their spears into pruning hooks: This line is parallel to the previous one, choosing a different weapon to be turned into a different farming tool. The same action of heating and hammering metal into a new shape is implied here (the verb beat). A “spear” was a long wooden rod with a short, pointed, two-edged metal blade attached to the end of it. A “pruning hook” was a short knife-like blade attached to a wooden handle. A farmer used it to cut off unwanted or dead branches of fruit trees and other trees. Just as the sword and the plow tip were comparable in size, so were the metal parts of the spear and the pruning hook. For pruning hooks, New Jerusalem Bible has “sickles,” but “pruning knives” (Good News Translation) is the more common understanding. Where a “pruning knife” is unknown, translators may choose another metal farming tool that is similar in size to a large knife.

Where metal farming tools and weapons that resemble those mentioned in these two lines are not known or used, translators can consider a generic description; for example, “They will destroy their weapons of war and make [or, turn them into] tools for farming.”

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation: The idiom lift up sword against pictures the use of swords to attack an enemy in war. Good News Translation drops the image for clarity, saying “Nations will never again go to war.” Another possible model is “One nation will not attack another any more.” However, if sword has been used in the third line, translators could try to maintain the image by changing the verb from lift up to “use.”

Neither shall they learn war any more: In 1.17 Israel was urged to “learn to do good.” This line refers to the practice of teaching the next generation the art of warfare (see Jdg 3.2). In the future, however, military training won’t be needed anymore, which further indicates there will be peace. Revised Standard Version is not quite satisfactory here, because learn war is not idiomatic English. New Jerusalem Bible is clearer with “no longer will they learn how to make war.” Another good model is “nor will they train for war anymore.” Good News Translation “never prepare for battle again” is acceptable, as long as it doesn’t imply the existence of a standing army that does not need to go into action.

Some translation examples for this verse are:

• Yahweh will settle disputes between nations,
and decide cases between many peoples;
they will hammer their swords into plow tips,
their spears into pruning knives;
nations will not attack one another,
nor will they learn the art of warfare any more.

• God will be the judge between nations,
and settle arguments between various peoples;
they will then turn their swords into farm tools,
and their spears into pruning knives;
one nation will not attack another,
and they will no longer teach how to fight.

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 .