Translating Hebrew Poetry

Woe, offending nation, people weighed down with crime, seed of evildoers, sons acting ruinously.  They have forsaken the LORD, scorned Israel’s Holy One, they have fallen behind.  Isaiah 1:4  Robert Alter

Woe, offending nation – Robert Alter’s translation of the Hebrew Bible attempts to use the same English words for the same Hebrew words whenever possible.  This means that synonyms are rarely employed, a deliberate stylistic departure from the usual English Bible translations.  Alter does this so that the non-Hebrew reader can see the relationship between Hebrew sentences when the same Hebrew word is written, something that the use of synonyms often hides.  But there are other reasons.  Often English words don’t carry quite the same emotional impact as the comparable Hebrew word in Hebrew poetry since Hebrew poetry does not usually operate with rhymes based on phonetics.  There are exceptions, of course, and when the exception occurs Hebrew communicates even more emotional emphasis.  Such is the case here.  The Hebrew sounds like this: hoy goy hotei.  Alter calls it a “pounding rhythmic insistence.”  The poetry demands attention.  But English versions modify the impact.  Here’s the NASB:

Oh, sinful nation,
People weighed down with guilt,
Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the Lord,
They have despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away from Him.

“Oh, sinful nation” doesn’t quite have the harshness of “Woe, offending nation.”  “Woe” (hoy) is usually a lamentation, a cry of dereliction, not simply an emotional burst.  “Oh” might be used for anger, surprise, disappointment, joy or as a response.  But not hoy.  Hoy is always dark, foreboding, portending destruction.  If you want to know how God feels about Israel, you don’t need “Oh.”  You need “Woe.”

Furthermore, although the word translated “sinful” in the NASB is indeed ḥāṭāʾ, the poetry isn’t about theological doctrines.  It’s about personal offense.  God isn’t speaking about Israel’s rule-breaking behavior.  He’s speaking about Israel slapping Him in the face.  He’s hurt.  He’s distraught.  Israel’s actions are emotional barbs in the divine consciousness.  It’s not “missing the mark” here.  It’s turning your back and walking away.

Of course, Isaiah’s opening doesn’t stop with God’s personal injury.  It also shows us the results.  The Hebrew is ʿam, “people,” “everyone.”  The whole nation is involved in the personal insult, not just the sons of the fathers.  “Sons” comes later (“Sons who act corruptly” NASB, “seed of evildoers” Alter) with the word zeraʿ (literally “seed” as Alter demonstrates).  As a result, the nation (ʿam) is weighed down with “crime.”  The NASB has “guilt,” but the Hebrew is ʿāwōn.  Often translated “iniquity” or “guilt,” the point of this poetry is not the forensic status of this audience but rather the social consequence.  Crime runs rampant.  Sons destroy (šāḥat), not just act corruptly.  Society is falling apart.

Do you want to know why?  Do you want an explanation for the rise in evil, the scourge of corruption, the brazenness of criminals?  Isaiah tells us.  The reason is quite simple.  ʿāzab.  What it implies will require a much deeper look.

Topical Index:  hoy goy hotei, Woe, people, ʿam, ḥāṭāʾ, offense, crime, ʿāwōn, šāḥat, ʿāzab, Isaiah 1:4

Oh, BTW, did you notice that “nation” is goy, not ʿam, in the opening verse?  Did you ask why?