Your first father sinned: The word father here refers to an ancestor. Your first father is most likely the Israelites’ ancestor Jacob (see Deut 26.5; Hos 12.2-4, 12). Good News Translation‘s footnote also cites Abraham and Adam as other possibilities. In view of the uncertainty here, translators should not make any name explicit here. However, a footnote could mention these three people in their order of possibility: Jacob, Abraham, and Adam. The LORD’s point in this line is that from the very beginning of Israel’s life, its people were sinful.

And your mediators transgressed against me: The Hebrew word rendered mediators seems to refer to people who speak on behalf of the community, but their precise function is not clear (compare Job 33.23). Those who stood between God and his people were the kings, the priests, and the prophets. Perhaps all these officials are in view here. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version use the general term “leaders,” while New International Version and Revised English Bible prefer “spokesmen.” Even Israel’s leaders were guilty of rebelling against God’s ways. The Hebrew verb rendered transgressed comes from the same root as the noun translated “transgressions” in verse 25 (see the comments there).

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Your earliest ancestor sinned,
and your leaders rebelled against me.

• Your first ancestor committed sin,
and your representatives rebelled against me.

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 .