complete verse (Isaiah 32:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 32:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “When the days that come near the (end of) a year are coming to an end
    you women without worries shall feel the consequences.
    Because, the vine shall not produce much fruit
    and one shall not harvest.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A little over a year from now,
    you, the ones who are feeling secure, will be trembling.
    On the grapevines no fruit will be borne,
    and there will also be no picking of fruit.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) women who just take-it-easy/relax and have nothing to worry-about, you (plur.) listen to what I’m am going to say to you (plur.)! In just a little more than a year, you (plur.) will-be-troubled because the grapes will- no-longer -bear-fruit, and you (plur.) will-harvest nothing.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

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 32:10

This verse warns those whose lives are presently very comfortable that their crops will fail. It does not imply that their behavior causes the crop failure.

The Hebrew phrase rendered In little more than a year is literally “Days upon a year,” and this is the only place in the Old Testament where it occurs. For Revised Standard Version it refers to a period of about one year. Good News Translation is similar with “this time next year,” and so is New Jerusalem Bible, which says “Within one year and a few days.” Revised English Bible has “at the turn of the year,” which is less than a year. King James Version indicates a much longer period of time with “Many days and years.” Since the phrase is linked to the failure of the harvest mentioned at the end of the verse, it probably refers to the time just before the harvest. So we recommend saying “In less than a year” even though this is not the choice of most translations. A footnote may be added to indicate that the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain, as in New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh.

You will shudder, you complacent women: The Hebrew verb rendered shudder can also be translated “tremble/quake.” It implies shaking with dread and fear. For complacent see the previous verse.

For the vintage will fail, the fruit harvest will not come: These two lines give the reason for the trembling. The Hebrew word for vintage refers to the grape harvest (see 24.13). Fruit harvest is literally “ingathering” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). It is a generic expression referring to any kind of harvest, so it may be rendered simply as “harvest.” Good News Translation restricts it to the grape harvest by combining these two lines, but this should not be done.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• In less than a year those of you who are self-confident will tremble,
because the grape harvest will fail,
and there will be nothing else to harvest.

• In a year’s time you self-confident ones will be quaking with fear,
for the grape harvest will fail,
and there will be no other harvest to gather in.

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 .