This verse refers to negative events for the people of Judah, but the previous verse and the following one describe good things for them. So the connector And at the beginning of the verse should be rendered in a way that fits the context. This connector may introduce the verse as something unexpected. This is how Good News Translation handles it by rendering it as “But.” Good News Translation also places the whole verse within parentheses, but this is not necessary. This verse links closely with the previous one by saying the people of Judah will continue to enjoy security despite the negative things that will happen. Other connectors that express this are “although” and “despite the fact that.” It is also possible that the connector And introduces the verse as a potential condition. If so, it speaks about negative things that might happen. The people of Judah will continue to enjoy security even if the negative events mentioned here happen. A connector that expresses this is “even if.”
The forest will utterly go down: There is a textual problem here. The Hebrew is literally “And hail hails on the forest.” Revised Standard Version emends the text for its reading. However, we agree with Hebrew Old Testament Text Project that there is no need to change Masoretic Text here. “Hail hails” renders a Hebrew verb followed by a noun of the same root. This is an emphatic expression. New International Version expresses it well with “hail flattens.”
And the city will be utterly laid low is literally “and in lowness becomes low the city.” This is another emphatic expression since “in lowness becomes low” renders a Hebrew noun followed by a verb of the same root. Revised Standard Version expresses it well by using the word utterly. For the whole line New International Version has “and the city is leveled completely.”
It is likely that the flattening of the forest by hail and the destruction of the city are metaphors for some unknown disaster that will happen to the people of Judah.
Translation examples for this verse are:
• … even if hail knocks down the forest [trees],
and the city is totally leveled.
• … despite the fact that hail might destroy the forest,
and that enemies might level the city completely.
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 .