But ships shall come from Kittim is literally “And ships from the hand of the Kittites [will come].” But renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, but there does not seem to be a contrast here. Here this conjunction continues the prophecy of verse 23, so it may be omitted (so Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or translated “Thus” or “And so.” The word ships refers figuratively to the people who sail them. Instead of ships, Good News Translation follows an emended text by saying “Invaders” (so also Hebrew Old Testament Text with “those going out”). However, there is no reason to change the Hebrew text here, which reads “ships” (tsim), as in Ezek 30.9 and Dan 11.30. The name Kittim is derived from the name of the town of Kition on the eastern coast of Cyprus and its inhabitants (so Noth, page 194; Budd, page 270). In the Old Testament it is often used in a general sense for those living near the (eastern) Mediterranean Sea and for foreign powers that come from that area (Isa 23.1, 12; Jer 2.10; Ezek 27.6, where in all these passages Revised Standard Version has “Cyprus”). Perhaps here Kittim refers to the Sea Peoples (the Philistines) in the thirteenth and twelfth centuries B.C. See also A Handbook on The Book of Daniel at Dan 11.30, where Kittim may refer to the Romans.

And shall afflict Asshur and Eber is literally “and they [the Kittites] will oppress Asshur and they will oppress Eber.” The Hebrew verb for afflict means “oppress” or “subjugate.” Good News Translation renders it “conquer,” which fits this context of warfare well. Here Asshur may refer to the Assyrian Empire (so Good News Translation), but an argument can also be made that it still refers to the Asshurites mentioned in verse 22 (so Ashley, page 510; Cole, page 431). Most translations have Eber, but it is unclear who is in view here. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Peshitta say “the Hebrews.” Levine (page 206) takes this name as a reference to ʿavar-naharah (Aramaic for “Beyond the River” in Ezra 4.10-11), that is, the land west of the Euphrates River, while Cole (page 431) suggests northern Syria as a possibility.

And he also shall come to destruction: After invading Assyria and the land west of the Euphrates River (or the furthest reaches of the land of Canaan), the invaders will be defeated themselves. Good News Translation makes this clear by saying “But they, in turn, will perish forever.” The Hebrew expression for shall come to destruction is the same as at the end of verse 20 (see the comments there). Again, because of the Hebrew word ʿadey (meaning “endlessness”), it seems best to include the temporal reference “forever” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation).

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .