The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken: For the ancient Hebrew readers, both horn and arm are symbols of strength, but this is not necessarily the case for persons of other cultures. Since the horn of Moab refers to Moab’s might or strength, if it is cut off or destroyed, then the meaning of the expression is as in Good News Translation “Moab’s might has been crushed,” which can also be rendered “Moab has lost all her power.” If an agent is required, a sentence such as “The LORD has destroyed the might of Moab” is possible. Similarly, his arm is broken refers to the inability of Moab to fight. Hence it may be rendered “its power is broken” (Bible en français courant) or “they do not have the ability to fight any more.”

Good News Translation expresses the sense of both these figures without using metaphors: “Moab’s might has been crushed; its power has been destroyed.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, on the other hand, replaces the metaphor only in the first half: “Moab has lost all its strength, its arm is broken.” The translation is followed with a note indicating the literal meaning of the first half of the verse. Both Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant follow Good News Translation, but Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is even more concise: “The proud might of Moab I will bring to an end!”

Says the LORD: See 1.8.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .