Following is a Russian Orthodox icon of Isaiah from the 18th century (found in the Transfiguration Church, Kizhi Monastery, Karelia, Russia). The text in the scrollis from Isaiah 2:2: “In the last days […] shall be established.”
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 10:20:
Uma: “After that, there is also the Word of God that is very clear, that was announced by the prophet Yesaya. God said like this: ‘The people who did not search for me, they are the ones who ended up finding me. And the people who did not ask who I was, I ended up telling them who I was.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then Nabi Isaya was also not afraid to speak, he said, ‘This is what God said, ‘The ones who did not look for me, they are the ones who found me. The ones who did not ask about me, they are the ones to whom I show myself.’ ‘” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And even more clean is the word of God which Isaiah was caused to preach long ago, for he said, ‘I was found by the people who were not looking for me, and even though that they were not asking about me, I caused them to understand who I was,’ he said.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “What God caused-Isaias -to-write about the Gentiles is even clearer. He says, ‘Those who weren’t looking for me, they are the ones who found me. Those who inquired nothing about me, they are the ones to-whom-I-appeared.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “But Isaiah plainly said in what he wrote about the word God spoke, saying: ‘The people who did not seek me are the ones who found in their hearts (= understood) so as to know me. The people who did not ask about who I am, are the ones who met up with me’ said God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Huehuetla Tepehua: “And the ancient servant of God who was called Isaiah really wasn’t afraid (to speak). This is what he said: This is what God says, Those who didn’t hunt for me, they are the ones who found me. And those who didn’t ask about me, they are the ones that I have shown myself to.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
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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.
These verses come from Isaiah 65.1-2. The intent of verse 20 is to show how the Gentiles came to God, while the purpose of verse 21 is to remind the people of Israel of how they rejected God despite his pleas to them.
As in the case of verse 19, it may be essential to introduce Isaiah as speaking “on behalf of God.” Only in this way can the reader properly understand who I is.
The verb found must be understood in the sense of “discovered,” with the meaning of “discovered without looking for.”
In the opening statement of verse 21, it is possible to introduce God as the speaker—for example, “But he tells us that God says concerning Israel.”
If, as is often the case, adjectives such as disobedient and rebellious must be translated as verbs (for example, “to disobey” and “to rebel against”), it may be necessary to have some type of goal—for example, “All day long I held out my hands to a people who disobey me and who rebel against me.”
In some languages the expression I held out my hands may have little or no meaning. In fact, it might mean “I was begging from them,” obviously a wrong meaning. An appropriate equivalent in some languages is “I offered peace to,” “I sought to be reconciled with,” or “I sought to reconcile people to me.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
And: The Greek word here is usually translated “and” or “but.” Some English versions use “Then” to indicate that Isaiah spoke after Moses (10:19b). Isaiah lived many years after the time Moses lived.
Isaiah boldly says: The Greek is literally, “Isaiah is-bold/daring and says.” God spoke the words of 10:20b–c and Isaiah wrote them in Scripture. Here are other ways to translate this clause:
Isaiah is bold ⌊in/with⌋ writing ⌊these words of God⌋ :
-or-
Isaiah was fearless enough to tell that the Lord had said (Contemporary English Version)
These words introduce a quote from the Old Testament. Some languages usually introduce Old Testament quotes in a certain way. For example:
⌊in the Scriptures⌋ Isaiah boldly ⌊wrote what God⌋ said
-or-
Isaiah ⌊wrote in the Holy Book God⌋ boldly saying this
says: The Greek verb is present tense says, but Isaiah wrote the words of 10:20b–c over seven hundred years before Paul lived. Greek scholars call it the historical present. In many languages the normal way of referring to a past event must be used. For example:
to have said
Paul introduced the quote in 10:21b with the words “as for Israel,” which implies that the quote in 10:20b–c was about the Gentiles. If you want to make explicit who Paul spoke of in this verse, you should refer to the Gentiles. For example:
to say ⌊about the non-Jews⌋
10:20b
The words of 10:20b–c are from Isaiah 65:1.
I was found by those who did not seek Me: This clause is passive. Some languages must translate with an active clause. For example:
those who did not seek me found me
I was found: Here the word found indicates that people learn who the true God is. It does not imply that God was lost or hiding. Translate with that meaning. For example:
I was discovered
-or-
they learned about me
was found: Here the word was indicates that in the past, at various times, people found God. Your translation should not indicate or imply that people found God all at the same time.
those who did not seek Me: The Greek verb here refers to seeking at any time. For example:
those not seeking me
10:20c
I revealed Myself: There are numerous ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as revealed Myself. Here are the main ones:
(1) Here it refers to God making himself manifest or revealing himself to people. For example:
I have shown myself (Revised Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, English Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), New American Bible, Revised Edition, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)
(2) Here it refers to God making himself visible to people. For example:
I appeared (Good News Translation)
(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Contemporary English Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because BDAG and L&N support it.
those who did not ask for Me: This phrase refers to people who asked others to tell them about the one true God. The Greek verb here refers to asking at any time. For example:
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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