Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 41:28:
Kupsabiny: “But when I want to look around I see no one. There is not even one of those idols who is able to advise people. No one has answered anything when (he) was asked about a matter.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I searched and looked among the gods, there was not even one of the ones among them who give counsel. If I would ask them there would be no answer.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I looked if there is a little-god who can-counsel, but I found no [intensifier] one. There is no [intensifier] one among them who can-give-an-answer to my questions.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
This verse continues the idea expressed in verse 26 that there was no god who predicted Cyrus’ rise to power. It can be treated as a further answer to the questions in verse 26. Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch make it clear that Yahweh is criticizing the gods here by referring to them explicitly, which may be helpful in other languages.
But when I look there is no one: Yahweh emphasizes again that when he looked around to see whether there was any god who could predict the future, he found none. Yahweh alone knows and directs the events of history. The Hebrew word for no is ʾayin (see the comments on verse 11). It occurs in the next line also. For this line Revised English Bible has “When I look round there is no one.”
Among these there is no counselor indicates that Yahweh does not receive advice from any god. The demonstrative pronoun these refers to the gods of the nations. The Hebrew word rendered counselor refers to someone who gives advice to others (see 40.13).
Who, when I ask, gives an answer: If Yahweh were to ask these gods about the future, none of them would be able to reply. The reason is given in the next verse.
Translation examples for this verse are:
• But when I looked to the gods, I found none [who could do so];
none of them could advise me,
none could answer what I would ask them.
• When I looked around, there wasn’t any god [who could predict the future];
there was no advisor among them,
who could reply to my questions.
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 .
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