complete verse (Isaiah 1:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 1:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “If you come and listen to me,
    you shall eat good things in the land.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If you love to obey my commands
    you will get to eat
    the many good things of this land” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If you (plur.) will- only -obey me, I will- surely -bless you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “If you are willing to obey me,
    I will enable you to have plenty to eat.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Isaiah 1:19

This verse begins with the same Hebrew particle as the one rendered “though” in the previous verse, but its function differs here. This time it introduces a condition, so Revised Standard Version says If. If Israel fulfills the condition in the first line, then it will receive what is promised in the second line.

You are willing and obedient is literally “you are willing and will obey [or, hear].” You are willing has no complement, but a possible model with one is “you are willing to do good.” Even better models are “you are willing to accept my words” and “you are willing for the change to take place.” However, the Hebrew syntax permits an interpretation in which the two verb phrases here are combined: “you are willing to obey” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Obedient in some languages will require an object. The possibilities are twofold. Either the object is Yahweh himself (for example, Good News Translation “obey me” and Bible en français courant “listen to me”) or the demands of verses 16-17, in which case we could say “obey my commands.”

You shall eat the good of the land is the promise Yahweh makes. In many cases this part of the conditional sentence can be made clearer if it is introduced by the connector “then.” If Israel is willing to fulfill the condition of obedience stated in the previous line, then Yahweh promises a reward. The good may be rendered “the good things” or “the goods.” Israel will feed itself with fine produce of the land, including both crops and products from animals like milk, cheese, and meat. This kind of physical reward is typical of the promises in Deut 28. The verb eat refers to more than just eating food here; it covers the enjoyment of things, so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates this line as “Then you will be able to enjoy all the good things that the land produces.” The land may be a general reference to the earth, but it more likely means “the land of Judah.” This promise is especially meaningful because of the desolation of the land described in verse 7.

The following translation examples can be considered for this verse:

• If you are willing to obey me,
you will enjoy the good things the land produces.

• If you are willing and will obey my commands,
then you will eat the good things of the land.

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 .