Who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am set apart from you”: These two parallel lines conclude the description of God’s rebellious people. These people appear to be speaking to other members of the community (so Good News Translation), or perhaps even to Yahweh in an offensive manner. If they are addressing Yahweh, then they are rejecting all dealings with him, essentially saying, “Keep away from us!” If they are speaking to others in the community, then they are claiming some special status for themselves that separates them from the rest of the community. The exact meaning of the Hebrew word rendered I am set apart from you is unclear. The rebellious people could be claiming to be sacred people. Like Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version reflects this sense with “I am too holy for you” (similarly Good News Translation). On the other hand, they could be claiming that their holiness will endanger those who come near them (see 2 Sam 6.6-8). Revised English Bible expresses this meaning with “my holiness will infect you” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and so does Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch with “I have been in contact with holy things and put you in danger” (similarly Bible en français courant). De~Waard accepts the view that the rebellious people are addressing others in the community, and recommends New Revised Standard Version as a model, but he also recognizes that Revised English Bible offers a good alternative interpretation. The Hebrew particle ki rendered for may be a logical connector or an emphatic marker. Good News Translation omits it.

These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day: These two parallel lines use the metaphors of smoke and fire to describe the rebellious people. They are a continuous fire whose smoke irritates God’s nose. The demonstrative pronoun These refers back to the rebellious people. For New Jerusalem Bible it points back to their words that God just quoted (“Such words”), but this is less likely. It is possible that smoke and fire are metaphors for God’s anger (compare 30.27; Psa 18.8), which is the view of Good News Translation and many other versions; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, renders these two lines as “Such things make My anger rage, Like fire blazing all day long,” and Bible en français courant has “When I see those practices, anger takes hold of me and does not cease burning in me.” But in this context they are more likely metaphors for the rebellious people who irritate God like smoke in someone’s nose (compare Pro 10.26). Revised English Bible expresses this sense with “Such people are a smouldering fire, smoke in my nostrils all day long,” and so does Contemporary English Version with “Such people are like smoke, irritating my nose all day.” Translators may render both metaphors as similes (see the second example below).

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• They say, “Keep away from me [or, us] and don’t come near;
I am [or, we are] indeed set apart from you.”
These people are smoke in my nose,
a fire that burns unceasingly.

• They say, “Keep to yourself and don’t come near me [or, us],
for I am [or, we are] too holy for you.”
Such people are like smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire that never goes out.

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 .