This verse continues the theme of verse 1, calling on God’s people to prepare to leave Babylonia.

Shake yourself from the dust, arise calls first on the exiles to get up from the dust, which is a metaphor for their humiliation and captivity (see 47.1, “sit in the dust” portrays Babylonia’s humiliation). It is more likely for the people to arise before they Shake … off the dust, so the order of these two imperatives may be reversed (see the examples below). Good News Translation keeps the original order, but in a logical way, by saying “Shake yourself free … Rise from the dust.”

O captive Jerusalem: Revised Standard Version (also New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) emends the Hebrew text of Masoretic Text, which is literally “sit, Jerusalem.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends Masoretic Text since it has the support of most early manuscripts. “Sit” implies “sit on your throne” (Good News Translation; similarly New International Version, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), a command addressed to the exiles. Translators may follow either reading here.

Loose the bonds from your neck refers to a custom in which captive people were tied together at their necks with ropes or chains, then led away by their captors (compare 10.27). Instead of the command loose the bonds, which urges the exiles to free themselves from captivity, the Hebrew text of Masoretic Text says “the bonds have been loosed,” which declares the exiles are free. Most versions have a command here even though there is strong textual support for the reading in Masoretic Text. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers Masoretic Text, which New Jerusalem Bible and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch follow. Translators may follow either reading. The Hebrew noun for bonds comes from a root meaning “to tie up,” but whether it refers to “chains” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible) or “ropes” (Revised English Bible) is uncertain. Perhaps ropes were the more common means of tying up captives, but translators may use either “ropes” or “chains” if a general term meaning bonds is not available. For this whole line New Jerusalem Bible has “The chains have fallen from your neck.”

O captive daughter of Zion is parallel to the second line, pointing again to the exiled people of Jerusalem. The Hebrew adjective rendered captive refers to them as prisoners. For daughter of Zion, see the comments on 1.8.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Arise and shake off the dust,
sit [on the throne], O Jerusalem.
The ropes are removed from your necks,
you captives from Zion.

• Get up and shake off the dust,
sit on your throne, O Jerusalem.
Remove the ropes from your neck,
O captive Zion.

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 .