This verse has the following chiastic structure in Hebrew: burns/fire > eats flesh > < roasts meat < warms/fire. However, not all the versions favor a chiasmus here (see the comments below).

Half of it he burns in the fire is a literal rendering. The Hebrew word rendered Half may be translated “some” (Good News Translation) or “Part” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). If the verse is chiastic as we propose, then this clause refers to burning some of the wood in order to keep warm. For Good News Translation it speaks about burning part of the wood to roast meat and keep warm.

Over the half he eats flesh means the person uses another part of the wood to cook meat for eating. However, like Good News Translation, most versions imply that cooking meat is part of the purpose for the fire in the previous clause. For these versions the two occurrences of half refer to the same part of the wood, so some only mention it once; for example, for the first two clauses of this verse New International Version translates “Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal.” Because Good News Translation believes the present clause gives the reason for making a fire, it adjusts the order of actions so that the roasting of the meat comes (naturally) before eating it. On the other hand, a chiastic analysis of the verse makes this adjustment unnecessary.

He roasts meat and is satisfied is literally “he roasts a roast and is satisfied.” The Hebrew words for roasts and meat come from the same root. They are a set phrase in Hebrew. Is satisfied means the person feels full after eating the meat.

Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!”: According to our chiastic analysis, this action of warming himself in the fire is the same one as in the first clause. After he is warm, he expresses his appreciation for the fire. His response here is similar to his satisfaction with the meat in the previous clause. For the exclamation Aha, Good News Translation has “How nice,” and Revised English Bible says “Good!” In many languages an ideophone will catch the sense of excitement here. I am warm, I have seen the fire means he is warm while watching the flames. New Revised Standard Version renders I have seen the fire as “I can feel the fire” (similarly New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), which is a valid model. Revised English Bible renders the last half of this verse well with “he also warms himself and he says, ‘Good! I can feel the heat as I watch the flames.’” For languages that prefer indirect speech here, it may be translated “He also warms himself and says how thoroughly good he feels being warm and watching the flames/fire” (see also the third example below).

Translation suggestions for this verse are:

• Part of the wood he burns in a fire [to get warm]; another part he uses to cook meat. He roasts meat and feels satisfied [after eating it]; he also warms himself and says, “Ah, I feel warm as I watch the fire!”

• He sets fire to some of the wood [for warmth] and cooks with another part. He roasts meat and is sated [by eating it]; he also gets warm and says, “How warm I feel watching the flames!”

• Half of the wood he uses to make a fire and on it he cooks some meat. He roasts the meat and feels full [from eating it]. He also warms himself, saying how warm he now feels as he watches the flames.

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 .