complete verse (Isaiah 28:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 28:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “(It) shall sweep you when it comes,
    and it shall come to you when it is day and night.
    When you realize (it) from these words/things
    fear shall come over you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “It will come up [at] any time,
    it will carry you away.
    [at] dawn, in the daytime or at night."
    Because of this message, only very great fear will be brought.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “This will- always -come every day, morning and evening, and this will- surely -destroy you (plur.).’
    You (plur.) will-be- very -terrified when you (plur.) understand this message.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Their soldiers will come during the morning, at noontime, and at night,
    and they will carry you all away.’
    And when you understand this message,
    you will be terrified.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Isaiah 28:19

As often as it passes through it will take you: The warning in the previous verse continues here with the repetition of the verb passes through. The pronoun it refers back to “the overwhelming scourge.” As often as it passes through is literally “From the sufficiency of its passing through.” It may be rendered “Whenever it passes” (New American Bible), “Every time it passes through” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “As often as it comes” (New International Version). It will take you means it will capture the people. If the “scourge” is rendered “flood” in the previous verse, an alternative model for this clause is “it will carry you away” (New International Version). Good News Translation says “It will strike you” since it renders “scourge” as “disaster.”

For morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night: The Hebrew particle ki rendered for is an emphatic marker here, so it is better rendered “truly.” Morning by morning means the crisis could occur often, while by day and by night means it could happen at any moment. These two lines express what is possible, so it is best to translate it will pass through as “it could pass through” or “it may pass through.”

And it will be sheer terror to understand the message: What message is intended here? Good News Translation suggests that it is “Each new message from God,” but others do not share this view. The Hebrew text for this line is literally “and it will be only terror to cause to understand/perceive what is heard [or, a message].” This seems to mean that grasping the full impact of the prophet’s present message should arouse terror in the hearts of Judah’s leaders. This meaning fits best in the context of the prophet’s warning to these leaders. Revised English Bible expresses it well with “When you understand what you hear, it will mean sheer terror” (similarly New International Version). Another possible model is “You should be utterly terrified if you grasp this message.”

Some translation examples for this verse are:

• Every time the flood sweeps through it will carry you away;
truly, it could pass through any day, at any time of the day or night.
Grasping this message will make you utterly terrified!

• Whenever the attack sweeps through, it will carry you off;
certainly it could sweep through any day, during the day or night.
If you understand what you are hearing, then you should be terrified!

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 .