OET interlinear ISA 27:11

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בִּ⁠יבֹ֤שׁ קְצִירָ⁠הּ֙ תִּשָּׁבַ֔רְנָה

when,dry_up branch[es]_of,its broken_off

Here Isaiah is speaking as if the city’s decline were like a tree whose boughs dry up and are broken. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [When its population dwindles, the city will be destroyed]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

תִּשָּׁבַ֔רְנָה

broken_off

The expression they will be broken is a passive verbal form. If it would be unnatural to use that form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [they will break off]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מְאִיר֣וֹת אוֹתָ֑⁠הּ

make_a_fire ,it

Isaiah assumes that readers will know that kingling it means breaking the dead, dry branch into smaller pieces to use for starting a fire. You could say that explicitly if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [they will be breaking up branches for kindling a fire]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בִּינוֹת֙

understanding

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of understanding, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [good sense]

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

כִּ֣י

that/for/because/then/when

The word translated as For indicates that what follows is a reason for what came before. Use a connector in your language that makes it clear that what follows is a reason for what came before. Alternate translation: [When its boughs dry up, they will be broken. Women will be coming, they will be kindling it. This is because it is not a people of understanding. Therefore its maker does not pity it, and its fashioner does not favor it]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

לֹ֤א עַם בִּינוֹת֙ ה֔וּא

not people understanding he/it

Isaiah is using not a people of understanding as a common expression of the culture to mean “a people who do not understand how Yahweh wants them to live.” If this phrase does not have that meaning for your readers, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [they do not understand how Yahweh wants them to live]

Note 7 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

עַל־כֵּן֙

on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in yes/correct/thus/so

The term translated as Therefore indicates that what follows is a result of what came before. Use a connector in your language that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [This is why]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

לֹֽא יְרַחֲמֶ֣⁠נּוּ עֹשֵׂ֔⁠הוּ וְ⁠יֹצְר֖⁠וֹ לֹ֥א יְחֻנֶּֽ⁠נּוּ

not he,will_have_compassion_on_it the_[one_of,who]_made_it and,the_[one_of,who]_formed_it not he,will_show_favor_to_it

Here Isaiah is speaking as if God were a craftsman by calling him the people’s maker and fashioner. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [he who made it does not pity it, and he who shaped it does not favor it]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

לֹֽא יְרַחֲמֶ֣⁠נּוּ עֹשֵׂ֔⁠הוּ וְ⁠יֹצְר֖⁠וֹ

not he,will_have_compassion_on_it the_[one_of,who]_made_it and,the_[one_of,who]_formed_it

The terms its maker and its fashioner mean similar things. Isaiah is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [the one who made it does not pity or favor it]