The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “wheat”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext) or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 23:3:
Kupsabiny: “Your people passed where there is much water. (They) came with food of/from Egypt that was planted at the bank of river Nile. You who became buyers and sellers of things from the whole world.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The grain of Shihor came in the large water, the harvest of the Nile River was the income of Tyre. and that country became a place for nations to do business.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “on the seas to buy and sell the produce/harvests of Shihor which is under-the-jurisdiction of Nile River. And the nations are-doing-business with you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “They sailed across deep seas to buy grain in Egypt and other crops that are grown along the Nile River. Tyre became the city where people from all nations bought and sold goods.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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. )
Be still is another plural imperative in Hebrew. The Hebrew verb here can be understood in two different ways. Since it is parallel with “Wail” in the previous verse, Good News Translation renders it “Wail” (similarly Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), which is supported by BDB. Evidence from the related languages of Ugaritic and Akkadian also support this. Revised Standard Version reflects the other possible understanding, which also fits the context. If someone sees his city destroyed, he could be silent out of shock. Bible en français courant says “Remain dumbstruck with astonishment” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). We prefer the sense of “Mourn” here.
O inhabitants of the coast, O merchants of Sidon: These two synonymous phrases refer to the people living in the Phoenician coastal city of Sidon. For Sidon see the introductory comments on this section [23.1-18]. Just as the people of Tyre were called to lament in the previous verse, the people of Sidon are called to do the same here. The merchant “ships” of Tyre are parallel with the merchants of Sidon
Your messengers passed over the sea: This line begins a long description that extends into verse 3. Revised Standard Version (also New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible) follows Dead Sea Scrolls, which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project and de~Waard recommend. Your messengers refers to Sidon’s sailors. Masoretic Text is literally “one who crossed the sea they filled you [singular].” This probably means Sidon’s merchants enriched their city by buying and selling goods across the Mediterranean Sea. New International Version reflects this sense with “whom the seafarers have enriched” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The singular subject “one who crossed the sea” is used here as a collective since the verb “filled” is plural in Hebrew. Translators may follow Masoretic Text or Dead Sea Scrolls, but they should add a footnote indicating that the Hebrew text has a problem.
And were on many waters: In Revised Standard Version this line is parallel with the previous line. The traders from Sidon not only crossed the Mediterranean Sea, they also crossed many other bodies of water. Good News Translation combines both lines into “You sent agents across the sea.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends beginning a new sentence here. New International Version reflects this by beginning verse 3 with “On the great waters came….” Translators may follow Revised Standard Version or New International Version here.
For the translation of verses 2-3a consider the following examples:
• 2 Mourn, you who live on the coast, you merchants of Sidon!
Your traders crossed the sea
3a and sailed across many waters.
• 2 Weep, you who live along the coast, traders from Sidon!
Your seafarers crossed the sea,
3a crossing many waters.
• 2 Mourn, those of you who live on the coast, merchants in Sidon!
Those who crossed the sea enriched you.
3a Over the great waters….
Your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile is literally “seed of Shihor harvest of the Nile [was] her produce.” The pronoun “her” refers to Sidon. Revised Standard Version (also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) changes it to your since Sidon is addressed in the previous verse. Pronoun changes are common in Hebrew poetry, so Revised Standard Version‘s rendering is acceptable. New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible keep the pronoun “her.” Bible en français courant makes it explicit that it refers to “Sidon.” Revenue may be rendered “source of wealth” or “income.” The grain of Shihor refers to the grain grown in the Shihor Valley in Egypt. For grain see the comments on 17.5. This is described further as the harvest of the Nile since the Shihor Valley is part of the Nile River system. Phoenician merchant ships carried grain from Egypt to other parts of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a trade that brought great wealth to Sidon. Good News Translation links these lines with the previous ones, giving the reason why the people of Sidon crossed the sea: “to buy and sell the grain that grew in Egypt.”
You were the merchant of the nations: The traders from Sidon were the most prominent among all the traders of the region; they had an international reputation. Good News Translation sums it up well with “and to do business with all the nations.”
For the translation of verse 3b-d consider these examples:
• Shipping grain from Shihor, the harvest from the Nile, was [the source of] your wealth;
you became an international merchant.
• … came your wealth, by trading in grain from Shihor in Egypt.
You became the merchant to all the nations.
The second example completes the third example under verses 2-3a.
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 .
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