And when they say to you: The connector And introduces a result of the previous verse. It may be rendered “Then” or “Now” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Some versions omit it (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond). The subject of this clause is unclear. Grammatically speaking, the pronoun they should refer back to the last people mentioned, who are Isaiah’s children, but they do not fit this context. Rendering they as “anyone” or “people” is a solution. We may start this verse with “There are those who say to you.” Contemporary English Version has “Someone may say to you,” and Bible en français courant says “Certain people declare.” The pronoun you is plural since Isaiah is addressing the people in general.
Consult the mediums and the wizards: These people want to Consult sources other than Yahweh himself. This verb is literally “seek” or “look for” but with the technical sense of seeking information. Mediums and wizards are people who claim to have knowledge from another world or to mediate between the world of the dead and the living. The Hebrew noun translated mediums actually refers to “ghosts,” so by extension “those who consult ghosts.” It points to those who contact the spirits of the dead for information. The synonymous term, wizards, comes from a Hebrew root meaning “to know” and refers to those who claim to be able to make contact with the spirit world. If translators find only one word in their language to describe such people, they may use it and combine both terms. If no such term is available, a phrase such as “those who consult the spirits of the dead” is appropriate.
Who chirp and mutter is a clause composed of two Hebrew participles depicting the sounds made by birds. These onomatopoeic participles are full of irony; they mock what the other “gods” or the spirits say. Similar words may be used in translation here, or we may say “whose words only sound like birds twittering.” An ideophone in some languages will convey the sense well.
Should not a people consult their God?: This rhetorical question requires a decision about the speaker’s identity. It could be spoken by those who suggested earlier that people consult mediums, or it might be Isaiah’s sarcastic comment. Determining where to place the closing quotation mark will depend on the decision we make about this. We prefer to see this question and the next one as coming from Isaiah and loaded heavily with irony. Since it is a rhetorical question, translators may render it as a statement, for example, “People have every right to consult their gods!” Notice that only Revised Standard Version and New International Version say God, whereas all other translations consulted have “gods” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible) or “spirits” (Good News Translation). We favor the more common interpretation, “gods.”
Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?: This rhetorical question is similar to the previous one and in fact continues it. It is literally “on behalf of the living the dead?” Revised Standard Version supplies the verb consult from the first question.
Translators need to ensure that the tone of heavy irony is plain here. This may mean using statements in the second half of the verse, as in the first example below:
• Now they will tell you to consult the mediums and wizards that only chirp like birds. By all means ask advice from your gods; ask the dead about the living[, why don’t you]!
• When anyone suggests you consult the mediums and wizards whose words sound like birds twittering, go ahead! Why shouldn’t you consult your gods, the dead on behalf of the living?
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 .