The word Behold at the beginning of this section calls attention to a new king and his officials. Some versions omit this word, but it should be expressed. New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, and New American Bible say “See.” It may also be rendered “Now.”

A king will reign in righteousness is the primary announcement. The new king will deal with his people according to the law, which is a key concern of Isaiah. In Hebrew the phrase in righteousness comes before the verb to place emphasis on it. This is also true for the phrase in justice in the next line. These qualities will be important in the new political regime. Translators should keep this emphasis in some way (see the examples below). For comments on righteousness and justice, see 1.21. For the first line Bible en français courant has “There will be a king who will rule according to the principles of justice,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “… who reigns uprightly.”

And princes will rule in justice: This line is parallel to the previous one. The noun princes here does not refer to the sons of the king, but to other leaders in the country (see 1.23). Revised English Bible and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch say “his ministers,” and Contemporary English Version has “his leaders” (similarly Good News Translation). Other possibilities are “his officials,” “his rulers,” and “his chiefs.” Rule in justice means these officials will judge according to the law.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• See, with righteous judgment a king will rule,
and with justice his officials will govern.

• Now, in righteousness will a king rule,
his officials will administer [the nation] with equal justice for all.

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 .