In this verse the prophet includes in the sign an additional promise to Judah. Just as the crops will grow, so will those remaining in Judah. Judah as a nation had been “uprooted” by the Assyrian assault, but it will grow roots again and reestablish itself.

The connector And introduces the additional promise here, but most versions omit it.

The surviving remnant of the house of Judah follows the Hebrew text closely. It uses two important terms related to the idea of survival. The Hebrew word for surviving refers to people who escape from a bad situation, and the word for remnant to those who remain after some crisis. For these two words see the comments on 10.20. Since surviving remnant is a redundant expression, some languages may prefer to say simply “survivors.” The house of Judah refers to the people from the southern kingdom of Judah (see the comments on 22.21). Again take root downward, and bear fruit upward means they will reestablish themselves and flourish. In translation this agricultural imagery may not always be meaningful. Good News Translation provides a helpful model by expressing it as a simile: “will flourish like plants that send roots deep into the ground and produce fruit.” Unfortunately, Good News Translation omits the idea of again, which renders the Hebrew verb meaning “to do again.” A model that keeps it is “will again be like plants with deep roots that can produce a lot of fruit [or, crops].”

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Those who survive in Judah will once more, like a plant, have deep roots and produce fruit.

• Survivors of Judah will once again have deep roots and produce fruit like a plant.

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 .