3:8a

All are skilled with the sword: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as All are skilled with the sword is literally, “all of them are grasped by a sword.” The exact meaning of this statement is uncertain. There are two main ways to interpret it:

(1) It means that the men were skilled in using a sword. For example:

All of them skilled swordsmen… (Revised English Bible)

(2) It means that each man had a sword with him. For example:

all equipped with swords… (New Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It fits the parallelism, and it is also supported by the parallel passive verbs in 3:8a and 3:8b (“are grasped” and “are trained”). Both verbs describe well-trained soldiers. One way to translate the parallelism is:

8a All of them are skilled with the sword;

8b all of them are trained in war.

skilled with the sword: This clause indicates that all the men who guarded the bride were well trained in fighting with a sword. A sword is a long knife that is used as a weapon. A person usually needed to be trained to use a sword well. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Each of them is well trained in fighting with long knives.
-or-
All of them are skilled with a sword (NET Bible)

3:8b

experienced in warfare: The phrase experienced in warfare means “well-trained in battle.” It indicates that the men had been taught the skills that they needed to be good fighters. It also indicates that they were experienced soldiers who had fought in battles. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

trained in combat
-or-
experienced soldiers/fighters

3:8c

Each has his sword at his side: In 3:8c the author continued to describe the same group of soldiers whom he described in 3:8a–b. Each of these well-trained soldiers had a sword. The phrase at his side indicates that the sword was easy for him to reach and use. It was right beside him whenever he needed it. Some other ways to translate this meaning are:

each of them has his sword right at his thigh
-or-
each one has his sword ready

3:8d

prepared for the terror of the night: The phrase, the terror of the night, probably refers to any physical danger that might occur at night. These dangers included anything that could harm the woman or the people who were traveling with her in the procession to Jerusalem.

The procession probably needed more than one day to travel to Jerusalem, so the travelers had to set up camp at night and sleep there. It was dangerous to travel at night. Armed robbers often watched the roads to attack the people who passed by in the darkness.

In some languages it is necessary to make this danger more explicit. For example:

they are ready for ⌊anyone⌋ ⌊who might⌋ attack ⌊them⌋ at night.
-or-
they are prepared ⌊to defend her⌋ against ⌊anyone/anything⌋ who tries to harm ⌊her⌋ during the night.
-or-
Each of them is prepared to fight against any danger that threatens ⌊her⌋ in the ⌊dark⌋ night.

The theme of protection against harm was also found in 2:15 where foxes tried to damage the love between the man and woman.

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