Panic and pitfall begin with the same initial consonants in Hebrew, just as they do in English. The words mean “fear and the pit.” Pitfall refers to a hole dug in the ground as a trap to catch something. Its opening is lightly covered over so that the hole will not be seen, and any person or animal stepping on it will fall through and be caught. For similar combinations as here see Job 22.10; Isaiah 24.17-18; Jeremiah 48.43. Have come upon us is literally “is to us,” and the full sense is well expressed by Good News Translation “We have been through disaster and ruin.” We may also translate, for example, “We have suffered from fear and terror.”

The second pair of words, which also begin with the same letter and sound somewhat alike in Hebrew, are translated devastation and destruction. Translators may be able to retain something of the poetic effect through the use of words beginning or ending with similar letters or tones, or through the use of other poetic devices in their own languages. It will often be necessary to express the nouns used in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation as verb phrases; for example, “Our enemies have devastated and ruined us, and have killed us and destroyed all the things we had.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .