Hades / Sheol

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is often translated in English as “Hades” or “Sheol” is translated in the German Luther Bible 2017 (and pre-1912) as Totenreich or “realm (or: kingdom) of the dead” in these verses. (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sheol .

2nd person pronoun with low register (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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 14:15

An emphatic But opens this verse to show the contrast between what the king of Babylonia wanted for himself and what in reality happened to him.

You are brought down to Sheol: Instead of “ascending,” the king was brought down. Some languages may have to express this passive verb in an active form. If so, Yahweh is the agent here (see the second example below). The Hebrew text places the name Sheol before the verb to give it more emphasis. It literally says “to Sheol you have been brought down.” For Sheol see 5.14.

The depths of the Pit is parallel to Sheol. The Pit was a place perhaps reserved for the dead who had not received a proper burial (so NJPSV footnote|prj:NJPS.Isa 14.15 with a reference to Ezek 32.21-30). Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible refer to it as “the abyss.” Contemporary English Version combines the two lines of this verse, with the adjective “deep” expressing the idea of the Pit: “But now you are deep in the world of the dead” (similarly Good News Translation).

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Instead, you have been brought down to Sheol, to the bottom of the Pit.

• But Yahweh has brought you down to the deepest parts of the world of the dead.

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 .