The close parallel form of these lines emphasizes the seriousness of the message that Yahweh wants Israel to hear. The reference to Sodom and Gomorrah provides a link with the previous section. However, there is a difference. In a sudden twist the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah are now metaphors for the leaders and people of Judah and Jerusalem. In this way Yahweh compares the present wickedness of Judah with the corruption of the two infamous towns, which led to their destruction. Good News Translation has made the new perspective explicit at the beginning of verse 10, by stating openly that the prophet is not addressing the rulers and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, but those of Jerusalem. The metaphor becomes a simile in Good News Translation. It is recommended that translators follow Good News Translation on this point. This will avoid having readers think that the prophet has shifted the charges away from Judah and Jerusalem, and instead is charging Sodom and Gomorrah.

Hear and Give ear are parallel synonyms calling on the Israelites to listen to what Yahweh has to say. This time the Israelites are addressed directly, in contrast to verse 2 where these directives were spoken to the witnesses. When translating these verbs, it would be helpful to use the same forms that were used in verse 2, in order to highlight the repetition marking the introductions to the two sections, verses 2-9 and 10-20.

The word of the LORD and the teaching of our God are also parallel expressions. Reference to the word of the LORD is very frequent in the prophets (for example, Jer 1.2, 4; Hos 1.1; Jonah 1.1). However, the expression may sound obscure in many languages if translated literally. Good News Translation has rendered its meaning with “what the LORD is saying to you.” A possible model is “the message that the LORD has said.” The Hebrew term translated teaching is often rendered “law” in other contexts, but “teaching” or “instruction” is the better rendering here. Translators need to remember that the teaching of our God means “what our God teaches.”

You rulers of Sodom is parallel to the phrase you people of Gomorrah. Addressing the rulers of one town and the people of the other town is a way of comparing the whole community of Israel to both towns. Good News Translation has made this explicit by combining these two phrases into a single sentence. A ruler here is a chief or community leader, not necessarily a king (see 3.6-7, where the same Hebrew word is rendered “leader”).

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Judah, your leaders are like those of Sodom.
Hear what Yahweh has to say to them!
Judah, your people are like those of Gomorrah.
Listen to God’s instruction to them!

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 .