The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 65:9:
Kupsabiny: “I shall spare the descendants of Jacob and those of the clan of Judah to live on my hills. This land shall belong to my people whom I have chosen and my servants shall live there.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I will bring descendants from Jacob and from Judah I will bring to my mountain those who will take possession. The ones I have chosen will take possession there, and my people will live there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “There are (people) I will-leave alive among the descendants of Jacob as-well-as from the tribe of Juda, and they will be the one to inherit my land which has many mountains. They who are my chosen-ones and servants will-dwell in this land.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will spare some of the descendants of Jacob who are living on the hills of Judah. I have chosen them, and they will possess that land; they will worship/serve me, and they will live there.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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.
Instead of destroying his servants, God will bless them. He will let them occupy Judah to live there (compare 57.13). Although they had returned to Judah, the land was still devastated, so aspects of the promise of a return (made, for example, in 40.1-11) had largely gone unfulfilled. God reminds them of his original promises of a land in which they can live in safety. He assures them that the promises will in fact be fulfilled even if at present they stand between promise and fulfillment. Here he confirms that Judah will obtain a special blessing among the tribes of Israel.
I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains: These two lines are an example of all-inclusive parallelism. God promises the people of Judah, who are descendants of Jacob, that they will multiply and occupy the land of Judah. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob means God will cause the Israelites to multiply. They will not disappear. The Hebrew word for descendants is literally “seed” (see the comments on 41.8, where it is rendered “offspring”). For Jacob see the comments on 2.3.
The verb phrase I will bring forth is implied in from Judah inheritors of my mountains. God will also cause the increased number of Israelites to permanently settle in the land of Judah. The tribal name Judah refers to the whole Jewish community that returned from Babylonian exile. My mountains refers to the whole land of Judah even though it was not exclusively mountainous. Mountains did dominate the central part of the land, where Jerusalem and the Temple were located. The phrase my mountains could mean that God claims the land as his own (see 14.25), but it could also mean that it is the place where God is present with his people in the Temple on Mount Zion. Good News Translation renders the second line of this verse as “and their descendants will possess my land of mountains.”
My chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there: These two lines are another example of all-inclusive parallelism. God promises his servants, whom he has chosen, that they will finally possess the land of Judah and always live there. My chosen refers to the covenant relationship between Yahweh and his people (see the comments on 41.8). Inherit renders the same Hebrew word translated inheritors in the previous line. It may be rendered “possess” or “obtain” in this context, since the land is a gift from God, not an inheritance from someone who has died. For my servants, see the previous verse.
Translation examples for this verse are:
• I will cause the descendants of Israel to multiply,
I will cause Judah to possess my mountains.
My chosen ones will possess the land,
my servants will live there.
• I will multiply the people of Israel,
and Judah will inherit my mountains.
My chosen people will inherit the land,
and my servants will dwell there.
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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