If you take away from the midst of you the yoke: As in verse 6, yoke is a metaphor for oppression. In verse 6 God called on the people to break the yoke, that is, to allow the oppressed to go free. Here the challenge is the same: they must take away … the yoke, that is, they must bring oppression to an end. From the midst of you indicates that oppression exists within the community. Good News Translation expresses this line clearly with “If you put an end to oppression.”

The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness: These are two other types of misconduct God tells the people to remove. The first is the pointing of the finger (compare Pro 6.13). It is not clear what this gesture might have signified in the Old Testament culture. It may be a real gesture, body language that is intended to show contempt (so Good News Translation), to mock (so Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), to accuse (so Revised English Bible with “to point the accusing finger”), to threaten (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh with “The menacing hand” and New Jerusalem Bible with “the clenched fist”), to communicate deceit, or even to try and evoke some magical power to bring a curse upon someone. It may also be a figurative expression for some kind of legal accusation or threat. We recommend a literal translation if the gesture exists in the receptor language culture and if its meaning corresponds to one of those mentioned. If a literal translation is obscure or misleading, Good News Translation provides a helpful model with “every gesture of contempt.” Another possibility following this model is “gestures of mockery / menace / accusation.”

The second type of misconduct the people are to remove is speaking wickedness. This could be malicious talk aimed at causing harm or grief to others (so New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible) or making false charges (so Revised English Bible). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “evil speech,” and Bible en français courant uses “speak evil of them.”

For the translation of verse 9b consider the following examples:

• “If you refrain from oppressing others,
making accusations against them
and laying false charges against them; ….

• “If you stop oppressing others,
showing contempt,
and speaking evil of others; ….

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 .