complete verse (Isaiah 15:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 15:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “People are crossing the Valley of Willows/trees,
    wishing to flee with their things that they have.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So their wealth [and]the property that they gathered
    they will bring across the Poplar Bush ravine.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore they brought to the other-side of the place-where- water -flows of Arabim the things which they have-labored-for and what they have-gathered.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The people will pick up their possessions
    and carry them across Willows Brook.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 15:7

The connector Therefore introduces a result of the devastation to the Nimrim Valley.

The abundance they have gained is literally “left-over he has made.” Many commentators and translations believe this refers to the Moabites’ “hard-earned wealth” (Revised English Bible; similarly New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). But the Hebrew word rendered abundance means “something left over,” which is not quite the same as “wealth.” We suggest “what they have left,” namely, those few belongings they were able to rescue as they fled. Bible en français courant has “The few goods that remained.”

What they have laid up is parallel to the previous line. It refers to the meager savings of the people. This clause renders a Hebrew word from a root that can mean to “number,” “reckon,” “visit,” “punish,” or “appoint.” Obviously with such a range of senses, it is difficult to know exactly which one is in view here. In the context we suggest that this word points to those (few) things the people were able to gather before fleeing. Bible en français courant says “those that the people were able to save up.”

They carry away over the Brook of the Willows: Most modern scholars associate the Brook of the Willows with the Wadi-el-Hesa, which formed the border between Moab and Edom. So these two lines imply that the Moabites carried their few remaining household items to safety in Edom. It may be helpful to note this in a footnote. A Brook is a small stream, but the Hebrew term here is more correctly translated “Wadi” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). New Jerusalem Bible says “Ravine” and New American Bible has “Gorge,” which are deep narrow valleys. “Valley” is a better generic term to use in English. Willows are a species of tree that grow by rivers. However, the Hebrew name here is more often rendered “poplar” (New International Version, New American Bible, Bible en français courant), which is another tree that grows by rivers. A poplar is taller than a willow. Revised English Bible transliterates the Hebrew term, saying “Arabim.” Other translators may prefer to do this instead of using a loan word from a major language, such as wilo. Another option is to use a general expression; for example, the Brook of the Willows may be rendered “the brook/valley of the [many] trees.”

Translators can consider the following examples for this verse:

• So the few things they were able to gather and save, they carried with them across the Valley of Poplars.

• So whatever they could gather and rescue, they took with them as they crossed the Valley of the Willow Trees.

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 .