19and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, to Meshech, Tubal, and Javan, to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “survive,” “escape,” “save,” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) in these verses with pulumuka, describing someone whose life was in danger but who has freed himself or herself. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 66:19:
Kupsabiny: “I shall do a great thing/deed for those people. I shall send their remainder to go to lands that touch the ocean who have not seen my greatness and my power. They shall go to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, lands whose people are skilled in shooting arrows and go to the land of Tubal and Javan. They shall speak about my greatness in those lands.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I will give one sign in their midst. And those among them who have been spared, I will send to the nations — to Tarshish, to the Libyans and to the Ludians who were skilled with the bow and arrow, to Tubal and Greece and to distant lands — where [lit.: there] they have not heard my name exalted and they also have not seen my glory. Moreover, they will proclaim my glory in the midst of the nations. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-show to them miracles. And the ones-who-will-be-left-behind among them I will-send as messengers to the nations of Tarshish, Pul, Lud (whose people-groups are famous archers), Tubal, Grecia and to the other far places who have- not -heard my popularity and have- not -seen my power. They will-proclaim my power to the nations.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will put a mark on them, and those whom I have spared will go to various distant countries: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, Javan, and to distant islands. I will send them to proclaim to nations that have never heard about me that I am very great and glorious.” (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.
And I will set a sign among them: These words continue the divine promise to gather the nations. It is not clear what the sign is here. It could be the survivors mentioned in the next clause. Good News Translation seems alone in suggesting that the sign is the punishment referred to in the previous verses. Bible en français courant says “a sign of my authority.” Most modern versions translate the text literally, without explaining what the sign might be. The pronoun them refers to the foreigners God will gather in Jerusalem. New Jerusalem Bible renders this clause as “I shall give them a sign,” and Revised English Bible has “I shall put a sign on them.” Other possible models are “I will make some of them a sign for others” and “Some of them will become symbols for others.”
And from them I will send survivors to the nations means some of the people from the foreign nations will survive God’s judgment, and he will send some of them to their fellow citizens. The text does not state the reason for their survival, but it may happen because they will respond positively to God’s glorious presence and become believers. As proselytes, God will give them a mission to their own people. For some commentators the survivors are Jews who will survive Yahweh’s judgment, but this is less likely. Translating the term survivors may be problematic in some languages. The Septuagint renders it “those who are saved,” which may be a helpful model for other languages. Good News Translation says “I will spare some of them.”
To Tarshish, Put, and Lud, who draw the bow begins a list of nations where God will send the foreigners who survive. Tarshish most likely refers to the country of Spain (so Good News Translation; see the comments on 2.16). Instead of Put, Masoretic Text has “Pul,” a reading Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends. However, “Pul” is unknown in biblical geography. Put was a country on the North African coast, in what is Libya today (so Good News Translation, New International Version). The country of Lud was probably on the North African coast or in Asia Minor. Good News Translation renders it “Lydia” (similarly New International Version), an area in south-central Asia Minor. Put and Lud are mentioned together in Ezek 27.10. The clause who draw the bow (see 5.28) describes the people of Lud (compare Jer 46.9). Revised Standard Version renders Masoretic Text literally here, but there is evidence from other sources that the Hebrew text is corrupt and should be read instead as the name of another country, namely Meshech, another region in Asia Minor (so Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project is evenly divided on the issue, so de~Waard suggests either “with its skilled bowmen” or the name “Meshech,” with a footnote indicating the textual problem.
To Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off completes the list of nations. Tubal was the name of a country southeast of the Black Sea. Javan refers to Greece (so Good News Translation, New International Version). The coastlands afar off is literally “the distant islands,” which refers to the Mediterranean islands far from Judah (see the comments on 11.11 and 41.1).
That have not heard my fame or seen my glory describes the nations just listed. They never heard about Yahweh before or witnessed his glorious presence. My fame is literally “hearing of me,” which refers to Yahweh’s reputation. Good News Translation places this clause before the list of nations, saying “that have not heard of my fame or seen my greatness and power.”
And they shall declare my glory among the nations: The pronoun they refers back to the survivors, not to the nations just mentioned. In some languages it may be better to place this clause closer to the noun survivors, and then list the nations to which God will send them (see the second example below). The verb declare may be rendered “describe” or “tell about.”
Translation examples for this verse are:
• And I will give them a sign, sending some of them who are saved to the nations. They will go to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech [or, with its skillful archers], Tubal, Javan, and the far-off islands. These [nations/countries] have not heard about me nor have they witnessed my glorious presence. There, those who are saved will describe how glorious I am.
• And I will make some of them a sign for others, sending some of them who survive to describe to the nations how glorious I am. These nations are Spain, Libya, Lydia, Meshech, Tubal, Greece and its far off islands. They have not heard of my fame before, nor have they seen my glorious presence.
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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