Lift up your eyes round about and see; they all gather, they come to you: God calls on Zion to look up and see a crowd approaching (compare 60.4). Lift up your eyes round about and see is an idiomatic way of telling Zion to look around. The pronoun they could refer generally to those returning from exile (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), or it could be those who will rebuild the city and its walls, mentioned in verse 17. New International Version suggests “all your sons,” which is consistent with its preference for Masoretic Text “sons” rather than “builders” in verse 17. Bible en français courant has “your children.” Most other translations consulted retain the pronoun “they.” They all gather, they come to you in most translations is rendered in the present tense. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and some commentators prefer a past tense, as though the people have already arrived. The context and Hebrew syntax allow either sense. The word all (literally “all of them”) is repeated in the fourth line giving emphasis to the fact that those returning will be great in number. They come to you is rendered too freely by Good News Translation as “they are coming home” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

As I live, says the LORD: God makes a solemn promise or oath to Zion. The Hebrew words rendered As I live introduce an oath that he swears (see Num 14.21, 28; Jer 22.24; Ezek 5.11). The point of these introductory words is to underline that the promise that follows will be kept with absolute certainty. As certainly as God lives, the promise will be kept. All versions consulted use a form of the verb live or the noun “life”; for example, New International Version and Contemporary English Version say “As surely as I live,” Good News Translation has “As surely as I am the living God,” Bible en français courant uses “I swear to it by my life,” and New Jerusalem Bible is concise with “By my life.” However, in some languages, there may be other expressions for introducing an oath that a translator should consider. They may communicate more effectively than a literal rendering of the Hebrew. For example, some African languages say “I swear by myself.”

The Hebrew expression rendered says the LORD (literally “declaration of the LORD”) comes in the middle of the LORD’s speech. This interjection is very common in the Old Testament prophets, especially Jeremiah. In Isaiah it often occurs with the addition “of hosts” (see 14.22-23). This phrase gives solemnity to the LORD’s words, and reminds readers that he is the one speaking. In many languages it may be rendered simply “[so] the LORD says,” either in the middle of the speech, or at the beginning or end of it.

You shall put them all on as an ornament, you shall bind them on as a bride does: These two lines begin the words of the oath itself. They use the simile of a bride putting on jewelry for her wedding. Two certainties are stressed in this oath. First, the exiled people will return in large numbers, which is expressed by the use of the word all. Second, there will be a great celebration, which is communicated by the following figure of speech: the returning people will be worn by the city like a bride wears her wedding jewelry. Both occurrences of the pronoun them refer to the returning people. They will be regarded as the city’s ornament (Good News Translation “jewels”). Jerusalem is compared to a bride, and the imagery of dressing her for her wedding is made explicit. Bind them on may be rendered “put them on” or “dress in them.” For these two lines Revised English Bible has “you will wear them as your jewels, and adorn yourself with them like a bride.” Good News Translation emphasizes the city’s “pride” here; Contemporary English Version stresses her beauty by saying “your city with its people will be as lovely as a bride wearing her jewelry.” Both interpretations may be correct, though the text does not specify which emotion it wants to evoke. However, the general sense of a joyful celebration should be present in translation.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Look around you!
All of them are coming and gathering about you.”
Yahweh says: “I swear to you,
you will wear all of them like jewels,
put them on as a bride puts on her finery.

• Look about you!
Here they all come gathering about you.
[Jerusalem,] I, the LORD, promise
that you will wear them as jewels,
like a happy bride you will put them on.

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 .