I did not speak in secret means God speaks openly for people to hear him. This contrasts with the hiddenness of God mentioned in verse 15. The Hebrew word rendered secret comes from the same root as the verb translated “hidest” in verse 15. God is invisible, but he makes his word known. God may intend to draw a contrast between the way he speaks openly, and the way foreign gods communicate in obscure ways. I did not speak in secret may be rendered “I have not hidden my words,” “I have not kept quiet,” or “I have not held back my words.”

In a land of darkness is a parallel to in secret. This phrase provides another link with the creation story, which refers to the world before creation as a place of darkness in Gen 1.2. Darkness is an image for secrecy here, as in verse 3. Bible en français courant maintains the figure by rendering this line as “in some obscure place,” which implies not many people have heard God speak. Good News Translation translates it nonfiguratively, saying “or kept my purpose hidden.” A model that combines the first two lines is “I have not spoken secretly in dark places.”

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in chaos’ means God did not tell the Israelites in exile to seek him in vain. He has a plan for them. He will free them from exile as his new creation. The offspring of Jacob is literally “the seed of Jacob.” As in 6.13, “seed” is a metaphor for descendants, so this phrase refers to the people of Israel. Chaos is the same word that occurs in the previous verse. Here it is a figure for futility. If possible, translators should render chaos in the same way in both verses to show the link between them. Good News Translation does this with “a desolate waste.” New International Version and Bible en français courant do not use the same wording in both verses since it is used figuratively here. For Seek me in chaos, Bible en français courant has “look for me there where there is nothing,” and New International Version uses the nonfigurative expression “Seek me in vain.” Both these models are valid.

I the LORD speak the truth, I declare what is right: These two parallel lines are synonymous. Rather than speaking confusing things secretly, God speaks the truth openly. His words are trustworthy and reliable. The Hebrew noun rendered truth (tsedeq) has a wide semantic range (see 1.21, where it is translated “Righteousness,” and 41.2, where it is translated “victory”). Here it refers to truth. The Hebrew term translated what is right (literally “what is straight”) has the same sense in this context. For these two lines Bible en français courant has “I, the Lord, I speak candidly, what I announce is clear and straight.”

Translation examples for this verse are:

• I have not spoken secretly in darkness;
I have not said to the descendants of Jacob,
‘Look for me in vain.’
I am Yahweh, I speak truthfully,
declaring things you can depend on.

• I have spoken openly, not hiding my purposes;
I did not say to Israel’s descendants,
‘Seek me where there is chaos [or, disorder].’
I am the LORD, who speaks what is true,
announcing what is dependable.

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 .