Mourn over the field, ¹  over the delightful fields and the fruitful vine!

biblegateway Isa 32:12

Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

Beat your breasts in mourning for the delightful fields and the fruitful vines,

Beat your breasts as you mourn for the fields, for the vines bearing grapes.

biblegateway Isa 32:12

Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines

Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

bibleoremus Isa 32:12

Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

Beat upon your breasts in mourning for the pleasant fields and fruitful vines,

biblegateway Isa 32:12

People shall mourn upon their breasts For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.

biblegateway Isa 32:12

Mourn over the field, ¹  over the delightful fields and the fruitful vine!

¹ tc The Hebrew text has “over mourning breasts.” The reference to “breasts” would make sense in light of v. 11, which refers to the practice of women baring their breasts as a sign of sorrow (see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:585). However, one expects the preposition עַל (’al) to introduce the source or reason for mourning (see vv. 12b-13a) and the participle סֹפְדִים (sofedim, “mourning”) seems odd modifying “breasts.” The translation above assumes a twofold emendation: (1) שָׁדַיִם (shadayim, “breasts”) is emended to [ם]שָׂדַי (saday[m], “field,” a term that also appears in Isa 56:9). The final mem (ם) would be enclitic in this case, not a plural indicator. (The Hebrew noun שָׂדֶה (sadeh, “field”) forms its plural with an וֹת- [-ot] ending). (2) The plural participle סֹפְדִים is emended to סְפֹדָה (sÿfodah), a lengthened imperatival form, meaning “mourn.” For an overview of various suggestions that have been made for this difficult line, see Oswalt, 586, n. 12).