But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy: In contrast to what “this people” feels about conspiracy and fear, Yahweh tells Isaiah and his supporters to have a different view. This contrast is expressed by the connector But. The people are to focus instead on Yahweh. The Hebrew structure here places emphasis on him by mentioning him first as the object of the verb regard as holy. It also highlights him by following the LORD of hosts with the pronoun him. For the LORD of hosts, see the comments on 1.9. For the meaning of holy, see 1.4 and 6.3. Instead of the pronoun him, Good News Translation uses the first person pronoun “I” since the LORD himself is speaking. In languages where a person may speak about himself in the third person, such adjustments are unnecessary. The second person pronouns you and your are plural. Instead of you shall regard as holy in Masoretic Text, some manuscripts read “you will plot,” but Hebrew Old Testament Text Project strongly recommends the reading in Masoretic Text. This reading also fits best with the next verse (see the comments there).

Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread: The Hebrew word for fear can describe an attitude of fear or one of deep respect and awe. Since this verse refers to fearing the LORD, we believe the emphasis here is on awe and respect rather than naked fear. The word dread, which is synonymous with fear, also carries the sense of awe, though it is possible that it leans more toward the notion of fear. Even though the sense of awe fits best in this verse, translators may use the same terms for fear and dread that they have used in verse 12, in order to preserve the poetic rhythm as well as the impact of the speech.

Translation examples for this verse are:

• Rather, it is Yahweh of hosts whom you should regard as holy; he is the one you should respect; he is the one to inspire awe.

• But Yahweh of hosts is the one you need to consider holy; let him be the one of whom you fear; let him be the one you dread.

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 .