When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them: These two lines continue the wilderness illustration of the previous verse. Once the vegetation in the wilderness dries out, women break up the branches and gather them as firewood. In ancient days gathering firewood was a job women did. Its boughs is synonymous with “its branches” in the previous verse. They are broken means that they are broken up into smaller pieces. Since women are the implied agent for this passive expression, it may be rendered “women break them up.” Make a fire of them means the women gather the sticks and use them as firewood (so Good News Translation).

For this is a people without discernment: This line does not connect directly with the women gathering firewood. Rather, it links back to the abandoned cities at the beginning of verse 10. The intervening lines about the wilderness in verses 10b-11a are a parenthetical remark. Translators may use parentheses or dashes to mark off this remark from the surrounding text (see the examples below). The Hebrew particle ki rendered For is probably an emphatic marker here, so it is better rendered “Indeed.” This is a people refers to the people of Israel, but this should not be made explicit. They are without discernment. This is a polite way of saying they are stupid. They are not foolish because they lack knowledge, but because they have refused to follow the way of wisdom, with its basic advice to fear Yahweh (see Pro 1.7). For this line Revised English Bible says “They are a people without sense,” and Bible en français courant has “Truly this people has understood nothing.”

Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, he that formed them will show them no favor: The connector therefore introduces these lines as the result of the previous one. The two lines are parallel and synonymous. He who made them and he that formed them mean that Yahweh created them. Although he is their Creator, he will no longer have compassion on them, that is, show them … favor. The Hebrew verbs rendered have compassion and show … favor are the two central verbs associated with the covenant between Yahweh and his people (see 54.10, where the first verb is used in the context of this covenant). Since the people have refused to follow the way of wisdom by fearing Yahweh, they will no longer receive his compassion and favor. These two verbs may be rendered “will no longer be gracious or kind to them.”

Translation examples for verses 10b-11 are:

• 10 … like the wilderness.
(There animals find pasture,
where they rest and strip branches bare.
11 When the branches are dry and broken,
the women collect them for firewood.)
Indeed, these people are foolish,
so Yahweh who made them will not be compassionate,
he that formed them will not be gracious to them.

• 10 … like the wilderness.
(There cattle seek pasture and rest,
and they strip the bushes bare.
11 When the branches dry out,
women break them up and collect them for firewood.)
Truly, these people understand nothing,
so Yahweh their maker will no longer show compassion,
he who created them will not be gracious to them.

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 .