Verses 8-10 describe the military power of the Babylonians in rather traditional language (compare Isa 5.26-30; Jer 4.13; Hos 13.7). There is some poetic exaggeration in the figurative description. If this will be misunderstood in a literal translation, then the translator should try to make it clear that the figurative description ought not to be taken literally. One way to do this is to say “Their horses seem to run faster than leopards…,” and similarly with the other figures.
Leopards are large, wild, catlike animals, whose fur has spots which enable them to hide very easily in the shadow of trees. Here the comparison may be with a cheetah, an animal similar to a leopard, since cheetahs are well known for their speed and are sometimes captured and trained for hunting. If a cheetah is more familiar than a leopard, the word for cheetah may be used here. If neither animal is known, translators may make the comparison by referring to any large, swift predatory animal which is well known. In areas like the Pacific islands, where no such animals exist, it may be necessary to borrow a term from some other language and explain it in a footnote.
The expression evening wolves is a literal translation of the Hebrew. The thought behind the expression is that the wolves of Palestine normally hunted by night, and so in the evening, when they began their hunt, they were more hungry than at other times. Good News Translation here translates the meaning into plain English and says “fiercer than hungry wolves.” It is also possible that the word translated evening may mean “desert.” Thus New English Bible translates “wolves of the plain,” and New Jerusalem Bible “wolves of the steppe.” The Septuagint at this point understands the text to have a slightly different Hebrew word and translates it as “wolves of Arabia,” but no modern English version does this. The word evening with the meaning “hungry” makes perfectly good sense, and translators are recommended to follow this interpretation. The same problem occurs in Zephaniah 3.3. In some cultures where wolves do not exist, other translation models are “hungry wild dogs which hunt at night,” or even “hungry wild animals that….” Fierce in this context means “cruel” or even “bloodthirsty.”
The second part of the verse has several difficulties. The Hebrew word which Revised Standard Version twice translates as horsemen may refer either to horses or to their riders. The Hebrew verb translated press proudly on in Revised Standard Version is used elsewhere of cattle leaping about (Jer 50.11, “are wanton”; Mal 4.2, “leaping”), and seems to make better sense here if the subject is taken as “horses” rather than their riders. It is translated as “leap” in Bible en français courant and “gallop” in New International Version. In the second case the verb come from afar in Revised Standard Version seems to refer to the riders more than the horses. English versions vary in the way they handle the problem. Revised Standard Version and Jerusalem Bible translate as horsemen both times (compare Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). New Jerusalem Bible does the opposite and translates as “steeds” (that is, horses) both times. Some versions avoid the difficulty by using the English word “cavalry” (Moffatt, New English Bible, New International Version), which includes both the horses and their riders. This is a good solution in languages which have such a term (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). New American Bible and Good News Translation translate as “horses” in one instance and “horsemen” in the other. The “horses paw the ground” (New American Bible “prance”), while the “horsemen come riding from distant lands.” This is perhaps the best solution for languages that have no term equivalent to “cavalry” in English. The phrase “horses paw the ground” refers to the action of horses stamping their front hooves (feet) on the ground to show excitement. As noted above, this word may also be translated “gallop.” Horsemen in some languages will be rendered as “horse soldiers,” or even “soldiers who ride horses.”
Good News Translation changes the order of these two clauses and mentions the “horsemen” first. This is probably because the translators thought that the focus was more on the men than on the horses. Translators in other languages should follow the Good News Translation order only if it would have the same effect on the focus of the sentence as it does in English.
The last part of the verse contains another simile or comparison. The cavalry fly like an eagle swift to devour. The word translated eagle in Revised Standard Version may also mean a vulture, and Good News Translation translates it as “vulture” in other contexts such as Micah 1.16. However, in English the eagle is used as a symbol of power and strength, and so here Good News Translation translates as “eagles,” since it fits the context better. Translators should consider whether any of the large birds in their area are regarded as symbols of power. In this context it is more important to create the right impression on the reader than to give the correct zoological name of the bird. Compare Zephaniah 2.14.
The last sentence of the verse is expanded a little in Good News Translation to give a more vivid effect: “They come swooping down like eagles attacking their prey.” The word “swooping” is used especially of a bird diving downward in flight. “Prey” is a term applied to any creature which another creature wishes to catch as food. It is not clear in Good News Translation who “They” refers to in the final sentence, since “horses” were mentioned in the previous clause. If translators think that “they” refers to “horsemen” (compare Revised Standard Version), it will be helpful to make that meaning explicit and say “Their horsemen come swooping….” If it is impossible in certain languages to talk about “horsemen” swooping down on something, one may say “Their horsemen (or, soldiers on horses) suddenly attack their enemies like eagles (or, large birds of prey) swooping down on their victims.”
Another translation model for this verse is:
• The horses of the Babylonians run swifter than leopards (or, cheetahs) and are fiercer than hungry wolves (or, wild dogs). The Babylonian horse soldiers ride their horses (coming) from distant lands; the horses paw the ground (or, gallop). The horse soldiers suddenly attack like eagles (or, large birds of prey) swooping down on their victims.
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Habakkuk. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .