In verses 22-24 Yahweh makes several accusations against the Israelites about their sinful lifestyle before the exile. Since Yahweh continues to speak in this section, Good News Translation begins with “The LORD says” to make this clear. Other languages may find this helpful.

Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob: Here God accuses his people of not worshiping him. Yet (“But” in Good News Translation) renders the common Hebrew conjunction (literally “And”). It introduces a contrast with the previous verse. God created the Israelites to praise him, but they failed to do so. The verb call upon is an idiom for “worship” (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “prayer.” The pronoun me is emphatic in Hebrew since it occurs near the beginning of the line, which is literally “And it was not me on whom you called, Jacob.” Bible en français courant keeps the emphasis by saying “Israel, it is not me that you appealed to.” There is irony here since the Israelites actually worshiped Yahweh. However, they did not do it with the right attitude because they worshiped other gods at the same time. The use of irony makes the point that they did not take their worship of Yahweh seriously.

But you have been weary of me, O Israel is parallel to the previous line. But renders the Hebrew particle ki. This particle is probably an emphatic marker here, so it is better rendered “truly” or “indeed.” For New American Bible it is a logical connector introducing the reason why the Israelites did not worship, so it has “for.” This is also possible. In RSV/NRSV, Good News Translation, and New American Bible this line means the Israelites grew tired of worshiping Yahweh. However, New International Version has “you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel,” which means the people did not give themselves tirelessly to the worship of Yahweh. Revised English Bible is similar with “much less did you, Israel, weary yourself in my service.” Translators may express either sense here, but they should give the alternative in a footnote.

For the parallel use of the names Israel and Jacob, see the comments on 9.8 and 40.27. As usual, Good News Translation uses only the better-known name “Israel.” It also reverses the order of the lines here.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• “But it was not me you worshiped, O Jacob;
indeed, you grew weary of me, O Israel.

• “But it was not me you served, Jacob,
because you grew tired of me, Israel.

• “But Jacob, I was not the one you worshiped;
indeed, Israel, you did not give yourselves tirelessly for my sake.

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 .