complete verse (Isaiah 13:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 13:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “These are the words that God showed Isaiah about Babylon.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “This is the prophecy concerning Babylon which Isaiah son of Amoz experienced:” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “This is the message concerning Babilonia which the LORD has-revealed to Isaias the child of Amoz:” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I, Isaiah, the son of Amoz, received from Yahweh this message about Babylon city:” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 13:1

The editor of the book of Isaiah provides an introductory heading here. In Hebrew this verse begins with a noun phrase without a verb (literally “Oracle [of] Babylon”), followed by a relative clause. Good News Translation has turned it into a sentence with the words “This is…,” which is a model that may be suitable for other languages. It will be helpful to set off this introductory verse from the oracle that follows. Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, and New International Version do it by using prose format here and then poetic format in the following verses.

For comments on the word oracle, see the introductory comments on 13.1—23.18.

Babylon was the capital city of the nation of Babylonia that invaded Judah in the sixth century B.C., attacking Jerusalem in 597, and then destroying it in 587. There are further prophetic words concerning Babylonia in 44.28—48.20.

Which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw: A problem here is the use of the verb saw with the word oracle. Normally we would assume an oracle was spoken, but here the oracle came to the prophet in the form of a vision. The Septuagint expresses this with “A vision that Isaiah … saw.” See the comments on the similar phrase “The word which Isaiah … saw” in 2.1. For Isaiah the son of Amoz, see 1.1.

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 .