Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land for ever is literally “your people—all of them righteous ones—shall possess the land forever” (similarly Revised English Bible). So the second line of this verse is the main clause. This structure places emphasis on the fact that everyone in Judah will be righteous. For righteous see the comments on 3.10. Most versions consulted understand the righteous to be all the inhabitants of the land. But it is possible that the phrase “your people—all of them righteous ones” is a hendiadys and actually limits the promise to those who are righteous. In other words, not everyone is righteous, so the first line may be rendered “All your people who are righteous.” However, this is not the majority understanding.
They shall possess the land for ever promises God’s righteous people that they will possess the land of Judah forever. The Hebrew word rendered for ever, is the same one translated “everlasting” in the previous two verses. Since Yahweh is eternal, his people will possess the land forever. In the Hebrew text of Masoretic Text the noun land does not have the definite article the attached to it, but most versions add it. The land is a clear reference to the land of Judah. Without the article land could mean that the people will possess of pieces of land. Even the poor who did not have land at that time will possess some (compare Psa 37).
The shoot of my planting, the work of my hands describes God’s people. The Hebrew word for shoot refers to a young plant as it emerges from the ground, or to new growth appearing on a branch. The shoot of my planting means the seed that Yahweh planted will germinate and grow. Here it is an image for his people, suggesting hope for the future. There is a small textual problem with the Hebrew word rendered my planting. Masoretic Text has “his planting,” and one Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript says “the planting of Yahweh.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project does not comment on this problem. The context suggests that my planting is the correct reading. The variation could be caused by the confusion of the Hebrew letters waw (“his”) and yod (my). The work of my hands is a parallel statement about what Yahweh has done to create his people. Both phrases refer back to Your people, so translators may need to clarify this connection by rendering this line as “They are the shoots from the seed I planted, they are the work of my hands.”
That I might be glorified states the purpose for God’s creation of his people. He has created the new community to display his beauty/glory. The Hebrew verb rendered glorified is the same one that occurs in verses 7, 9, and 13. If possible, translators should try to use the same verb each time to reflect the repetition in the Hebrew text. For this line New International Version has “for the display of my splendor,” and Revised English Bible says “for my adornment.”
Good News Translation links the last two lines of this verse naturally by saying “I planted them, I made them, To reveal my greatness to all,” and so does Bible en français courant (1997) with “Those that I created with my hands so that they would manifest my glory, they will be like plants in my garden.”
Translation examples for this verse are:
• All of your people will be righteous,
they will occupy the land forever.
They are the shoots from the seeds I planted,
I made them with my own hands,
for my adornment.
• Your people, all of them, will be righteous,
they will possess the land for eternity.
I planted them and they will grow,
I formed them with my own hands,
to show my beauty.
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 .