And now introduces a change in focus. Yahweh is addressing the prophet directly here. Good News Translation uses indirect speech by beginning with “God told me….” Bible en français courant adds a quote frame, saying “The Lord told Isaiah: ‘Now…’” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Other languages may find this helpful. Yahweh’s words to the prophet close at the end of verse 11.

Go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book: The Hebrew verbs rendered go, write and inscribe are imperative. The verb go is not a verb of motion in this context, but it supports and emphasizes the commands to put something in writing. The pronoun it probably refers back to the contents of verses 1-7, so it may be rendered “all this” or “the warning.” For Good News Translation this pronoun refers ahead to verses 9-11, so it has “what the people are like” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The phrase before them is literally “with them” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). New Jerusalem Bible omits it following the advice of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, but we do not recommend this. Here it has the sense “in their presence.” Revised English Bible says “in their sight.” The parallel terms tablet and book refer to two rather different writing surfaces. A tablet may be a piece of stone onto which something is chiseled or carved, a piece of damp clay into which letters are inscribed with a stylus, or a piece of wood coated with wax on which letters are inscribed with a stylus. For book see the comments on 29.11. The verbs write and inscribe are parallel, but the verb inscribe (Revised English Bible “engrave,” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “scratch”) fits better with a tablet than with a book. The verbs could well be inverted, in fact. But this is a poetic statement, and the contents of the parallel lines should be taken in a general sense, not in literal detail. Translators should use verbs and objects that combine naturally. They can also combine both lines, as Good News Translation does.

That it may be for the time to come as a witness for ever: The Hebrew verb rendered that it may be is jussive, so it is better translated “[and] let it be,” which is a stronger expression. For the time to come is literally “for a day/time later.” The singular word “day/time” has a plural meaning here, so this expression refers to future days/times. The phrase as a witness is based on a slight emendation of the Hebrew text, which has “for ever” (New Jerusalem Bible). Virtually all commentators and translations accept this change, but Hebrew Old Testament Text Project slightly prefers Masoretic Text here. The Hebrew phrase rendered for ever is the regular phrase referring to a very long time (see 9.7, where it is translated “for evermore”). It does not refer to the modern concept of eternal time.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Now go and inscribe it in their presence on a stone tablet,
write it on a scroll;
let it be for time to come,
a witness for ever.

• Now then, carve it on a stone tablet in their presence,
write it in a book,
and let it remain for future times,
as a permanent testimony.

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 .