They shall name it No Kingdom There …: As noted above, in Revised Standard Version the first word in the Hebrew text of this verse has been added to the end of verse 11. The problem with verse 12 has been longstanding and there have been many attempts to solve it. Basically, the word rendered “nobles” seems unconnected with the rest of the verse in the Hebrew text; it is an isolated noun. The verse reads literally “Her nobles and there is not a kingdom they will call, and all her princes will be nothing.” Emendation and other approaches have been tried to solve this problem. Some suggest that this single noun is all that remains of a line that has been dropped out of the text. However, the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project committee generally thought it is a reliable text. We follow that recommendation, but what does the verse mean?

The first line may mean “Her [Edom’s] nobles are there but nothing to call a kingdom.” De~Waard suggests “No nobles left to elect a king,” which is Bible en français courant‘s rendering. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar with “Among the elite there is no one left who can be declared king.” Contemporary English Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh give a completely different interpretation of the first line. They speak of a special, offensive name that will be given to the country of Edom. Contemporary English Version has “Edom will be called ‘Kingdom of Nothing,’” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “It shall be called ‘No kingdom is there.’” In Contemporary English Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh the term for “nobles” is moved to the following, parallel line and associated with the princes. For the second line New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “Its nobles and all its lords shall be nothing.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh admits that the meaning of the Hebrew for the first line is uncertain. The Hebrew word for “nobles” refers to people who have great respect and authority in the community. It may be rendered “important people.”

And all its princes shall be nothing means the leaders of Edom will come to an end. Bible en français courant says “it is the end of all princes,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “of the leading men none is left.” For princes see 1.23. Here it refers to the sons of kings.

In a sense, the thoughts in this verse parallel the two descriptions at the end of the previous verse—formless and empty. The leadership will completely disappear.

For the translation problems in this verse there seems to be no solution that is widely accepted. This puts translators in a difficult position. Our suggestion is to follow a standard translation, if one is known and used in the receptor-language community, but add a footnote to point out that the rendering of the Hebrew is uncertain. If no translation is available for reference, translators will have to make a choice. We offer the following as examples:

• There will be no nobles left to elect a king,
all its princes will disappear.

• Of the important people, there will be none left to be elected king.
All its princes/rulers will be gone.

• There will be nobles but nothing to call a kingdom,
all its leaders will be gone.

• The land will be called “No Kingdom is there.”
All its nobles and all its princes will be nothing.

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 .