Go forth to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son: Yahweh tells Isaiah to give his first specific message to King Ahaz, and to take his son along with him.

Isaiah’s children are given names that carry a message. Shear-jashub means “a remnant will return.” This may be an explicit reference to the Babylonian Exile and the return of a small number of people, or it may be a general implied message of both disaster and hope. There will be some misfortune, but a number of people will survive it and return to God. Besides Shear-jashub, Isaiah’s other child is Maher-shalal-hash-baz (8.3). Some scholars have suggested that Immanuel (7.14) was Isaiah’s child as well, but there is no conclusive evidence for this. Translators should decide on a principle for rendering such names. They can be transliterated according to the pronunciation and writing requirements of the receptor language, with a footnote explaining the meaning of the name. They can also be translated directly in the text itself, either next to the transliterated name, or in place of the Hebrew name. Which approach to take in each case depends largely on the role that the name and its meaning play in the narrative. For example, in this verse Bible en français courant places “Shear-Jashub” in the text, and explains it’s meaning in a footnote. However, in verse 14 it has “Immanuel, ‘God with us.’” (In Hosea the names of the prophet’s children are particularly significant for the message he proclaims, so Bible en français courant speaks of Not-Loved [Hos 1.6|prj:FRC97.HOS.1.6] and Stranger [Hos 1.9|prj:FRC97.HOS.1.9], without even mentioning the Hebrew names.) Overall, a good policy to adopt for important names is to place the transliterated name in the text, and then give its meaning in a footnote. Most versions do this with Shear-jashub.

At the end of the conduit of the upper pool: A conduit is a man-made channel that allows water to flow. New International Version says “aqueduct.” Good News Translation uses “ditch,” but this could be understood incorrectly to refer to a channel dug in soft soil, which most likely it was not. The pool described as the upper pool suggests that there were several pools or tanks in the city used for water storage. This one was the highest one in the system. The upper pool can also be understood as the storage location for water that was channeled into the city. The LORD tells Isaiah to meet Ahaz at the end of the channel which led from this pool.

On the highway to the Fuller’s Field: The pool (or the end of the channel) was apparently alongside the road or path that led to another part of the town known as Fuller’s Field. A “fuller” is someone who washes clothes, so the road led to an open area (Field) where clothes were washed. Presumably the channel carried water from the pool to where this washing activity took place. For highway New International Version has “road,” while Revised English Bible calls it a “causeway.” Since the word highway can be misleading in a modern context, it is better to say “road” or “path” here.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Then Yahweh told Isaiah to take his son Shearjashub and to go and see King Ahaz. Ahaz at that time was near the end of the water channel that flowed from the upper pool, alongside the road to the area where clothes were washed.

• Then Yahweh said to Isaiah, “Take your son Shearjashub* and go to Ahaz. He is near the end of the water channel coming from the upper pond, along the road to Washer’s Field.
* The name Shearjashub means “a remnant will return.” This name gives hope to the people of Judah that even though they will suffer badly, a number of them will survive.

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 .