grain

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).

Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

Translation commentary on Isaiah 16:9

The prophet mourns because Moab’s crops and vines have withered. His reaction recalls 15.5. The connector Therefore indicates that his response is due to the devastation of Moab’s agriculture described in the previous verse.

I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah: There are three possible interpretations of this line: (1) I weep for Sibmah’s vines like Jazer weeps for those vines (so RSV/NRSV, Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond); (2) I weep with Jazer for Sibmah’s vines (New American Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch); or (3) I weep for Sibmah’s vines as I weep for Jazer (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The interpretation of these two lines depends on the sense of the Hebrew preposition rendered with. Here the preposition probably means “like” rather than “with,” so the first option above is the most likely one (so Waltke and O’Connor).

I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Ele-aleh: The Hebrew verb rendered drench means to soak something with water. The prophet’s crying is so great that his tears soak the people of Heshbon and Ele-aleh, the two towns mentioned earlier in 15.4. If this imagery is too difficult for some readers to understand, translators may use a nonfigurative rendering. One language has “I weep because of Hesbon and Elealeh; I weep, down my face tears stream.” It uses an ideophone to express the idea of tears streaming down the face.

For upon your fruit and your harvest the battle shout has fallen: The language here is highly poetic and figurative. The connector For introduces these lines as a reason for the prophet’s weeping. Your fruit and your harvest refers to Moab’s various fruit and grain crops, including grapes. These two noun phrases have a sound rhythm in Hebrew (ʿal qetsek weʿal qetsirek), which suggests this is a standard word combination. There are two possible interpretations for these two lines. The shout could refer to the enemy army and its noisy attack (so Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). If so, these lines mean the shouting enemy attacked and destroyed Moab’s farmland. The shout could also refer to the Moabites’ shouts of joy during harvest (so New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Nouvelle Bible Segond). If so, these lines mean this sound of joy is no longer heard. Translators may choose either interpretation.

For the translation of this verse we suggest:

• Therefore I weep like the people of Jazer for the vines [or, vineyards] of Sibmah.
O Heshbon and Elealeh, I soak you with my tears,
for upon your fruit and your crops, the sound of battle has come.

• So I cry for the vines of Sibmah as the people of Jazer do.
I soak you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh,
for all the sounds of joy have disappeared from your harvests.

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 .