OET interlinear ISA 43:24

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

קָנֶ֔ה

sweet_cane

Here, calamus is a kind of fragrant reed that people used to make perfume and incense. If your readers would not be familiar with what calamus is, you could use the name of a similar thing that your readers would recognize, or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [sweet-smelling reeds]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

אַ֗ךְ

but

Yahweh uses the word But here to indicate a contrast between what the people failed to give him and what they have actually burdened him with. In your translation, indicate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [Instead,]

אַ֗ךְ הֶעֱבַדְתַּ֨⁠נִי֙ בְּ⁠חַטֹּאותֶ֔י⁠ךָ הוֹגַעְתַּ֖⁠נִי בַּ⁠עֲוֺנֹתֶֽי⁠ךָ

but (Some words not found in UHB: not bought to/for=me for,money sweet_cane and,the_fat_of your(pl)_sacrifices_of,your not you,have_satisfied_me but you,have_burdened_me with,sins_of,your you,have_made_me_weary with,iniquities_of,your )

But you have made me serve with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities — These two clauses mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and you may want to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation. If it is helpful, you could connect the phrases in a way that shows that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: [you have burdened me with your sins; indeed, you have wearied me with your iniquities]

הֶעֱבַדְתַּ֨⁠נִי֙

(Some words not found in UHB: not bought to/for=me for,money sweet_cane and,the_fat_of your(pl)_sacrifices_of,your not you,have_satisfied_me but you,have_burdened_me with,sins_of,your you,have_made_me_weary with,iniquities_of,your )

God is using you have made me serve as a common expression of the culture to mean “you have burdened me.” 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: [you have given me grief with your sins] or [you have burdened me with your sins]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בְּ⁠חַטֹּאותֶ֔י⁠ךָ

with,sins_of,your

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of sins, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [with the wrong things you have done]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בַּ⁠עֲוֺנֹתֶֽי⁠ךָ

with,iniquities_of,your

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of iniquities, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [with the evil things you have done]