Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim!: For Cry aloud, translators may need to specify what kind of crying it is. It could be tearful crying but it could also mean calling out for help. “Cry for help” seems to fit the context best (see the comments below). Gallim was a town between Gibeah and Anathoth. The phrase daughter of Gallim could simply be a reference to the people of the town. However, the word daughter can also be used for the area surrounding a town, that is, the villages making up the wider community (see the comments on 1.8). It is often best to avoid a literal rendering of daughter in such expressions, in order not to give the wrong sense. We may say “people of Gallim,” “the people of the area around Gallim,” or simply “Gallim.”

Hearken, O Laish!: The people of the town of Laish, near Jerusalem, are called to listen to something. It may be Gallim’s call for help, or it may be the sound of the advancing army. Since we cannot be certain what specific sense is meant, it is better to use a general expression for Hearken.

Answer her, O Anathoth!: The play-on-words here is clear in the Hebrew. The root letters of the verb and those of the town name are the same. Anathoth, the birthplace of Jeremiah, was just northeast of Jerusalem. Its people are called to Answer. The sense of this verb is not just to speak some words but to act responsively. The pronoun her probably refers back to the people of Gallim. So the prophet is suggesting that the people in Anathoth respond to Gallim’s call for help. However, New International Version and King James Version understand the Hebrew verb for Answer to be the adjective meaning “poor,” so they have “Poor Anathoth.” Both these words have the same root letters in Hebrew. Contemporary English Version is similar with “sorrowful Anathoth.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project cautiously recommends this reading, but we prefer rendering the Hebrew word here as a verb rather than as an adjective, because it fits the context better. This is also the choice of Revised English Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh.

The likely sense of verse 30 is as follows: Gallim calls for help and the neighboring towns are urged to respond. Contemporary English Version has “Loud crying can be heard in the towns of Gallim, Laishah, and sorrowful Anathoth.” It summarizes the contents of the verse by stating that the response of all three towns is the same. They are all weeping. However, the Hebrew verbs are different, and shortening the verse to the extent that Contemporary English Version has done takes away the poetic impact of the text.

We suggest the following as translation examples for this verse:

• Call for help, you residents of Gallim!
Listen, those in Laish,
and answer them, you who are in Anathoth!

• Call out for help, all Gallim! Listen to them, people of Laish! Respond to them, you in Anathoth!

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 .