And all the people will know lacks a grammatical object. What will the people know? In this context the object is clearly what is described in verse 8. Good News Translation makes this explicit by saying “… will know that he has done this.” Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation use a future tense here (also New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible). But as in the previous verse, the verb form here indicates something already accomplished, so a past tense is better. Contemporary English Version expresses this clause well with “and all of them knew it.” The people were aware of God’s word of judgment, but they chose to ignore it out of pride and arrogance.

All the people is defined more closely as Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria. Ephraim is another name for the northern kingdom of Israel (see 7.2), and Samaria is its capital city (see 7.8-9). Good News Translation uses the better-known name “Israel” instead of Ephraim, and it identifies Samaria as a “city” (Contemporary English Version “capital city”).

Who say in pride and in arrogance of heart: Although the general verb for say is used here in Hebrew, a verb such a “boast” renders it better in this context. The double expression in pride and in arrogance of heart stresses the depth of the Israelites’ pride. Although pride can be a positive term depending on the context, here it is clearly negative. Bible en français courant opts for an idiomatic rendering, saying “Their hearts puffed up with pride.” The people were so full of their own importance that they had no intention of taking notice of God’s warning or threat. Rather, they had even greater plans for themselves.

Contemporary English Version provides a possible model for verses 8-9, saying “8 The Lord had warned the people of Israel, 9 and all of them knew it, including everyone in the capital city of Samaria. But they were proud and stubborn and said, ….” Like Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant uses a past tense for the verb say, so that the boasting happened in the past as a response to God’s judgment. Bible en français courant (1997) has “7 The Lord has sent a word … 8 Everyone knows about it, the whole kingdom of Ephraim and the whole population of Samaria. Their hearts puffed up with pride, those people said:….”

For the translation of this verse we suggest:

• Everybody was aware of it, those throughout Ephraim and Samaria who boast in their proud and arrogant way:….

• All Ephraim and Samaria knew of it, but they arrogantly said:….

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 .