Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel: Isaiah states that he and his children with their names are signs to Israel. As noted in 1.1, Isaiah’s own name means “Yahweh saves”; hope and salvation are a vital part of Isaiah’s message. The names of his two children mentioned earlier, Shear-jashub (7.3) and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (8.3), also are part of the prophetic message. The word signs was used in connection with the birth of Immanuel (7.11, 14). The Hebrew word for portents is added; here it refers to a sign or token of something that is to take place in the future. It can also point to a special display of divine power. In this verse signs and portents are synonymous, placed side-by-side for emphasis. They may be combined if needed; for example, Good News Translation says “living messages.”
The initial word Behold calls attention to the presence of Isaiah and his children. Good News Translation and Revised English Bible begin with “Here I am with the children…,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “Here stand I and the children….”
The children are signs given by the LORD of hosts. See the comments on 1.9. The double reference to Yahweh in this verse may be combined if such redundancy is not a feature of the translator’s language.
Who dwells on Mount Zion: In Isaiah’s understanding of the covenant, Mount Zion with its Temple is the place where God dwells (see, for example, 18.7; 24.23; Psa 132.13; Joel 3.17). Zion, strictly speaking, is not synonymous with Jerusalem, but is often used in that way. See the comments on 1.8; 4.5.
The first part of this verse is quoted in Heb 2.13 as “Here am I, and the children God has given me” (Revised Standard Version). However, the context for the quote gives it quite a different meaning from the one it has here. Its original sense, as explained above, must be preserved here.
Restructuring this verse can make it less complicated. Consider the following examples for translation:
• See! Yahweh of hosts, he who lives on Zion, has made me and my children living signs to Israel.
• I and the children that Yahweh of hosts, dwelling in Zion, has given me are signs and messages for Israel.
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 .