At the beginning of this verse we recommend a paragraph (so Good News Translation) or stanza break (so Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant). The prophet not only changes his imagery here, but he also moves from third person to second person references for the rebellious people of God.

In this verse and the next one there is a reference to oaks and gardens. Here they serve as metaphors for religious rites that took place there. Some background information is needed to understand these metaphors. The “oak” (also known as “terebinth”) is a large tree; it is deciduous, which means it loses its leaves in the winter and regains them in the summer. For this reason it was linked with the ideas of dying and being reborn; these ideas were basic to what are called “fertility religions.” The Canaanite religion was one of these religions. Some of the rites of these religions were practiced under oak trees, where people sacrificed to the gods of the land. So the oak tree was associated with Canaanite religious practices that many Israelites followed. Because of this religious association, New International Version and Revised English Bible render oaks as “sacred oaks.” The Septuagint translates oaks as “idols,” but this rendering is based on a different understanding of the Hebrew root here. Contemporary English Version follows the Septuagint, but it has a better rendering with “trees where you worshiped idols.”

The gardens are associated with the sacred trees; they do not refer to separate cultivated vegetable gardens. The parallel context indicates that they are places where the same Canaanite fertility rites were practiced. These gardens are probably not different from the sacred places under the oak trees (see also 65.3-4; 66.17).

The Hebrew particle rendered For that begins this verse and the next one is better translated “Indeed.” It does not introduce a reason for something here, but it is simply used for emphasis. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh begins this verse with “Truly,” and Bible en français courant has “Yes.”

You shall be ashamed of the oaks: You will be ashamed refers not only to a sense of guilt and embarrassment but has overtones of condemnation and even of punishment. So Good News Translation has “You will be sorry,” but this seems rather weak. This line does not mean the people will be ashamed of the oak trees themselves, but they will be put to shame by their participation in Canaanite worship under the trees since that worship cannot help them. Making this explicit would probably expand the translation too much (but see Bible en français courant below). Adding “sacred” to oaks may be sufficient to hint at the implied meaning here (see the comments above). If the “oak” tree is not known in the receptor language, oaks may be rendered “[big] sacred trees.” It is better to use a general expression here than the name of a well-known tree in the language. This will avoid the risk of introducing elements in the translation that are foreign to the culture of the Bible.

There is a minor textual issue in this line. Instead of you shall be ashamed, the Hebrew text (supported by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project) reads “they will be ashamed.” All English translations consulted change it to second person since the rest of the verse is in second person. Even New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh uses second person here, but it gives the alternative in a footnote. We suggest using second person here without a footnote.

In which you delighted: Delighted is a person’s reaction to something that is attractive and desirable. The rites practiced under the oak trees were something that the Israelites took pleasure in; there was often sexual activity as in Canaanite religion. This line may be rendered simply “which you enjoyed.”

And you shall blush for the gardens: You shall blush is parallel to you shall be ashamed. It describes a person’s face growing red from embarrassment. It is used here figuratively to refer to shame. A literal translation may not be appropriate in many cultures. Translators should look for an expression meaning “be ashamed,” with or without the image of “blushing.” The word for means “on account of” or “because of,” indicating the reason for the shame of the people. Gardens is parallel to oaks. As noted above, gardens is probably a figurative reference to places of Canaanite worship under the oak trees. They are not ordinary vegetable gardens. Good News Translation adds “sacred” to the word gardens to convey the deeper sense. However, translators should not use “sacred” if it conveys a positive sense.

Which you have chosen indicates the Israelites deliberately chose to participate in Canaanite worship, which means they were not faithful to Yahweh (verse 28). Another way to say this is “where you are determined to worship.”

As Good News Translation often does, the parallel lines in this verse have been collapsed to form a single sentence. Good News Translation states that the trees themselves were worshiped, but the prophet’s rebuke most likely refers to the religious rites that took place under the sacred oaks. Good News Translation also mentions the “planting” of sacred gardens, but there is no evidence for this. So Good News Translation should not be followed here. On the other hand, a literal translation of Revised Standard Version, without any footnote, may be hard to understand. If Good News Translation is taken as a model, translators should at least modify it slightly by saying “You will be ashamed that you ever worshiped under trees and inside sacred gardens.” Bible en français courant (1997) provides a good model for the whole verse as follows: “Yes, you will be humiliated for practicing your rituals under those sacred trees to which you are so much attached; you will be disappointed for having chosen those gardens for your pagan practices.” Other possible models are:

• Truly you will be put to shame
because of your worship at the sacred oak trees,
and you will be embarrassed
because of your preference for the sacred gardens.

• Indeed you will be condemned
because of your delight in worshiping under the sacred oak trees;
you will be embarrassed
on account of your choice of the sacred gardens.

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 .