complete verse (Isaiah 65:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 65:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “I shall answer their prayers before they pray,
    and I shall hear (them) before they speak to me.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Even before they pray, I will answer.
    While they are speaking, I will hear their words [lit.: matter].” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Before they will-ask or while they are- still -asking, I will-answer them already.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 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.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Isaiah 65:24

Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear: See the comments on 58.9a. The four verbs, call, answer, speaking and hear (“listen”), occur in the second half of verse 12 in the context of judgment against the people. Those who were unfaithful did not answer when the LORD called, nor did they listen when he spoke. However, in the new creation the situation will be entirely different. God will answer even before the people call in prayer to him. He will hear them while they are still speaking; that is, he will grant their request while they are making it. This verse is a highly poetic way of saying that God will respond more quickly to their prayers than they could imagine. If possible, translators should use the same verbs in this verse as in verse 12 to make the connection between the two verses obvious.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• Even before they pray to me, I will answer them;
while they are still speaking, I will respond.

• Even before they call to me, I will answer;
while they are still speaking, I will grant their request.

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 .