complete verse (Isaiah 14:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 14:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “You shall never be buried like the other kings
    because you despised your land and killed your people.
    Never shall your children be seen at all,
    because you became a sinner!” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “At the time to bury corpses, you will not be united with them,
    for you have destroyed your own country,
    and you have also destroyed your own people.
    None of the descendants of the wicked will ever take a name.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (sing.) will- not -be-buried like the other kings, for you (sing.) destroyed your (sing.) nation and killed your (sing.) people. No one will-be-left alive of your (sing.) wicked family.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Your corpse will not be buried
    because you have destroyed your nation
    and have caused your people to be killed.
    The descendants of wicked people like you will never be honored again.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 14:20

In verses 20b-21 the second person address to the Babylonian king changes to a third person description, so the final clauses of this section are somewhat independent. Many translations reflect this by separating these clauses from the rest of the poem. Revised Standard Version does this by inserting a blank line in the middle of verse 20. Our examples below add a paragraph break. For clarity and consistency, Good News Translation has no break and maintains the second person address to the end of verse 20.

You will not be joined with them in burial could mean that the Babylonian king will not be buried like the kings of other nations. Revised English Bible makes this explicit by rendering the pronoun them as “those kings” (similarly Good News Translation). However, it could also mean that when the Babylonian king is killed, he will not be buried at all. This is the sense that is consistent with the previous verses in which the king is not given an honored burial.

Because you have destroyed your land gives one reason for his disgraceful burial. He may not have destroyed the Babylonian Empire directly, but he caused its downfall through his actions and policies.

You have slain your people is another reason for his improper burial. He is responsible for the death of his people. Since this clause and the previous one provide the reasons for refusing the Babylonian king a proper burial, some languages may have to place them at the beginning of the verse, before the main clause; see Good News Translation and the second example below. Good News Translation probably rearranges them to increase the dramatic effect.

May the descendants of evildoers nevermore be named!: This sentence can be read in two ways in Hebrew. It may be jussive (“May they not be…”; so Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible) or declarative (“They will not be…”; so Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible). The descendants of evildoers is a poetic way of saying “the evil descendants.” Since the Hebrew subject rendered descendants (literally “seed”) and the verb translated be named are singular, this sentence seems to refer to the Babylonian king. Revised Standard Version renders the singular subject as a plural, because it can be a collective, referring to more than one person. If the subject refers to the Babylonian king only, the sentence means that people will never speak about this evil descendant in the future. It could also mean that he will not be remembered as someone important and famous. Both meanings may be in view in this poem. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version understand the subject as a plural, referring to the family of the king. Good News Translation says “None of your evil family will survive,” which is another possible meaning for this line.

For the translation of this verse we suggest:

• You will not be buried like the other kings because you destroyed your land and your people.
“May this descendant of evildoers not be mentioned ever again!

• Since you destroyed your land and your people, you will not be buried like other kings.
“This evil descendant [or, dynasty] will not be named ever again.

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 .