inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Isa 42:17)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai translation uses the exclusive pronoun, excluding the cast images.

complete verse (Isaiah 42:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 42:17:

  • Kupsabiny: “All the people shall be harassed and shamed/insulted
    those who trust in idols that have been shaped/formed.
    They are saying to those things,
    ‘You are our gods/idols.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But all those who put their trust in idols,
    who honor these idols as their gods,
    they will have to feel shamed and will be disgraced."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But the ones who-trust in the little-gods, who considers images as their little-gods, will-flee in shame.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 42:17

In this verse God shows contempt for idol worshipers and their gods. All who put their trust in idols will be terribly ashamed.

They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame describes the fate of those who trust in idols. The pronoun They refers to the idol worshipers mentioned in the next three lines, not the blind people of the previous verse. They will be turned back means they will be rejected (so New Century Version). For the verb here Revised English Bible has “be repulsed.” It can also mean they will change their minds about their idols, recognizing the idols are not gods. Utterly put to shame is literally “they will be shamed with shame.” This expression uses the Hebrew root for “shame” twice for emphasis. Idol worshipers will be totally embarrassed because their idols will fail to help them. In languages that do not have the passive voice, this line may be rendered “I [the LORD] will change their minds and make them ashamed” (see also the third example below).

Who trust in graven images: This line and the next two are the subject of the two clauses in the previous line. The last two lines are parallel to the second line. For graven images, see the comments on 10.10.

Who say to molten images, “You are our gods”: These two lines are parallel to the previous one. Idol worshipers consider their handmade statues to be their gods. Some languages may prefer indirect speech here. If so, Good News Translation provides a good model with “who call images their gods” (see also the first two examples below). For molten images, see the comments on 41.29 even though a different Hebrew word is used there. For gods see 41.23.

Good News Translation places the last three lines of this verse before the first one, so that the subject comes first, saying “All who trust in idols, who call images their gods, will be humiliated and disgraced” (similarly New International Version, Revised English Bible; see also the first two examples below). Such an arrangement is especially helpful to avoid the misunderstanding of the pronoun They referring back to the blind people of verse 16. Since the topic in this verse changes from the one in the previous verses, Bible en français courant has a stanza break here and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch inserts a paragraph break.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• People who trust in carved or molten idols,
saying that those idols are their gods,
will be rejected and completely put to shame.”

• All who put their faith in carved or molten images
and say that those images are their gods
will change their minds and be totally shamed.”

• I will make them change their minds and shame
those who put their faith in any kind of idols,
who say to them, ‘You are our gods.’”

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 .