The mountains quake before him: first of all, Nahum uses earthquakes as symbols of the LORD’s presence (“Mountains quake in the presence of the LORD” in Good News Translation). Then, with the words the hills melt, he seems to picture torrents of water running down the sides of the hills, perhaps as a result of the storm of verse 3. However, translators should remember that the writer is here trying to create a dramatic impression of the awesome majesty and power of the LORD, rather than to give a logical description of an earthquake or of a thunderstorm. The words the hills melt may be simply a poetic parallel to mountains quake (compare Judges 5.4-5; Micah 1.4; Hab 3.6). In some translations the words before him may need to be rendered as “when the LORD appears,” as Good News Translation has done in the second half of the verse. The first half of the verse can then be rendered as “When the LORD appears, the mountains quake and the hills melt.” In areas of the world which do not have mountains, it is possible to say “When the LORD appears, the high land (or, ground) quakes and melts.” Another way of restructuring before him is: “When the LORD shows his power….”

In the second half of the verse, there is some uncertainty as to what the earth does when the LORD appears. The Hebrew text contains a verb which means “is upheaved” (Revised Version). However, two ancient translations, the Syriac and the Latin, appear to have read the Hebrew as a very similar word which means “crash in ruins, become desolate.” Revised Standard Version is laid waste follows these ancient versions but does not acknowledge this in a footnote (compare also Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). In fact in this context it hardly makes any difference to the overall meaning which alternative is followed. This third line of the verse, in parallel with the first, pictures the earth as being in violent motion because of the LORD’s presence. Whether the motion is upwards (as in Revised Version) or downwards (as especially in Jerusalem Bible “collapses”) really is of little importance. Good News Translation‘s “shakes” can include both, and indeed can be derived from either of the possible Hebrew verbs, so that it is not entirely clear which one Good News Translation has followed (compare New International Version “trembles” and New English Bible “are in tumult”).

In the final line the effect produced by the LORD’s presence is extended to include both the world and all that dwell therein. The Hebrew word used here for world is different from the previous word for earth and refers particularly to those areas which are inhabited. In Hebrew the verb used to describe the action of the earth in the third line also applies to the action of the people in the fourth (compare Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New International Version, New Jewish Version [New Jerusalem Bible], Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Good News Translation gives the two lines a better balance by including the verb “tremble” in the fourth line. It is simply a synonym for shake and does not imply any significant difference in meaning. Translators may also use synonyms here, if these are available in their language and represent good style. In certain languages, though, translators may not be able to use the same word for upheaval both about people and about inanimate things such as the earth or world. In such a case one may translate the final line of the verse as “the world shakes and its people tremble” or “its people are in turmoil.”

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A . A Handbook on the Book of Nahum. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .