This verse follows on from the previous verse: “If verse 30 warns us not to fight against the Lord, 31 warns us not to fight without Him” (Kidner). The theme here is that in spite of human plans and efforts, victory in battle is decided by the Lord.

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle”: “Is made ready” is a passive that is not easy to translate in some languages. If this is the case, it may be necessary to say, “Soldiers get their horses ready” or “An army may have horses ready.” Readers of this text probably understood that “The horse” stood for superior military strength—an army with a strong force of horses would expect that it could overcome its enemies. Contemporary English Version reflects this expectation in its rendering “Even if your army has horses ready. . ..” If the “horse” is unknown, this may be expressed more generally as “Even if your army is very strong [or, has many weapons].” In some languages it may be best to express “for the day of battle” simply as “for war” or “for fighting.”

“But the victory belongs to the Lord“: “But” is the normal Hebrew connector, but here it marks what follows as contrary to what people might expect. There is no verb in this line, which is literally “to the Lord the victory.” Most versions use a verb like “belongs to”, “rests with” (New International Version, Revised English Bible), or “the Lord . . . gives” (Good News Translation). The emphasis on the power of the Lord here is sometimes expressed by saying, for example, “. . . only the Lord can make you win.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .