The last word of Nahum 2:10 in Hebrew is of uncertain meaning. It refers to some color, but it is not clear what color. Some translators render it as “black” (the English version by James Moffatt, 1926/1935) or cramoisis — “crimson” (the French Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, 2010), but the majority think that paleness fits better with a description of fear. Translators should use word pictures or idioms which are natural in their languages for expressing reactions to fear; for example, “soul (guardian spirit) disappears and bile is stirred up” (Thai). (See also terrified / afraid and also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”)
Translation commentary on Habakkuk 1:17
In the traditional Hebrew text, this verse has the form of a question. The Dead Sea Scroll of Habakkuk treats it as a statement by omitting one letter. This matches the Septuagint but is not followed by any major modern translation. A question certainly seems more appropriate in the context: Habakkuk asks how long the LORD will allow Babylonian cruelty to continue.
Emptying his net continues the picture of the Babylonian armies as fishermen from verses 14-16. Here they are described as taking the fish they have caught out of their net. The Dead Sea scroll is again one letter different from the traditional text and has “sword” instead of “net.” This is followed by Good News Translation with “Are they going to use their swords” (compare Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, New American Bible, New English Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). There is little difference in overall meaning between the two possibilities. The Dead Sea Scroll text gives in nonfigurative language the same sense that the traditional text gives in a figure of speech. The majority of modern versions (Revised Standard Version, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible) follow the traditional text. This seems the best thing to do, since it is in keeping with the metaphor of the previous three verses.
The word translated for ever goes with the second half of the verse in the traditional Hebrew text as in Revised Standard Version, but it goes with the first half in the Dead Sea Scroll, as in Good News Translation. In a sense for ever goes with both halves of the verse anyway. Translators may place it in either half, according to the stylistic requirements of their language.
Slaying nations is expressed in more modern language by Good News Translation as “destroying nations.” Mercilessly means “without showing any pity.”
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 .
Translation commentary on Habakkuk 3:12
The description moves on from the natural world to its inhabitants and thus provides an introduction to the purpose of the entire theophany given in verse 13. (See comments on the theophany in verse 3.)
Thou didst bestride the earth in fury is expressed in modern terms in Good News Translation as “You marched across the earth in anger.” For the idea of God marching, compare Psalm 68.7. For alternative ways to translate in anger or in fury, see the comment on Nahum 1.3.
The second line is parallel in form to the first line: thou didst trample the nations in anger. Again Good News Translation puts this into modern speech: “in fury you trampled the nations.” The Hebrew word translated trample is frequently used of threshing crops like wheat or barley. This was usually done by having an ox walk round and round in a pit, treading the sheaves of grain with his feet to separate the ears of grain from the stalks (compare Deut 25.4). Sometimes the ox would drag a sledge with sharp stones or knives on the bottom to help the process. This operation was sometimes used in a figurative way to speak of punishment (see Isa 41.15; Amos 1.3; Micah 4.13). This is the case here also. When God is spoken of as trampling the nations, the meaning is that he is punishing them for their wickedness. In some languages it may be necessary to state this in plain language. Two alternative translation models are the following:
• When you were angry, you marched across the earth.
When you were furious, you trampled on the nations.
Or:
• You marched angrily across the earth,
and trampled furiously on the nations.
In some languages it will be necessary to combine the two clauses and say “You were furious, so you marched across the earth and trampled on all the people in the world.” See Nahum 1.6 for comments on the translation of “furious.”
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 .
Translation commentary on Nahum 2:11 - 2:12
These two verses together compare the city of Nineveh to a lions’ den, and its people to lions. The lion was a favorite figure in Assyrian sculpture, and in their inscriptions the Assyrians often boasted of the cruel way they had treated people whom they had conquered. Thus it is particularly apt that Nahum should use the habits of the lion as the basis for his comparison. He starts in verse 11 with a mocking question which in effect rejoices over the fall of Nineveh; then he goes on in verse 12 with a description of the way the lion of Nineveh used to behave in the days of his power. In some languages it will be easier to run the two verses together and first give the description of what Nineveh used to be like, before making the statement of what it is like now that it has fallen. See comments below on verse 12.
The figure of speech in verse 11 is in Hebrew a metaphor, Where is the lions’ den…? The lions’ den refers of course to the city of Nineveh, and Good News Translation makes this explicit by turning the metaphor into a simile, saying “Where now is the city that was like a den of lions…?” Lions’ den may also be expressed as “cave of lions,” or “cave where lions live,” or “place where lions live.” In cultures where the lion is unknown and there is no word for this animal, it will be helpful to say “wild animal named ‘lion,’ ” or use a generic term in the language meaning “wild animal” or “predator (or, flesh eater)” and append the name “lion” to it.
The clause Where is … can be rendered “What has happened to…” in many languages. This question, which includes the whole of verse 11, is a rhetorical question, and is really a way of making a strong statement meaning “Nineveh is now nowhere, it is destroyed.” Compare the use of the questions “Where is … God?” in Psalms 42.3, 10; 115.2; Micah 7.10, and “Where are the gods of…?” in Isaiah 36.19. Some translators may find it more appropriate to use a statement here and say “The city that was like a den of lions … has now been destroyed.”
The cave of the young lions: Good News Translation has “the place where young lions were fed,” and this translates the Hebrew text as it stands (compare Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). However, because the Hebrew word for feeding place normally refers to a place where cattle or sheep graze (compare New Jerusalem Bible “pasture”), a number of scholars think that it does not fit well in a passage that is speaking about lions. By changing the order of two of the letters in the Hebrew, a word meaning cave is obtained instead, and this wording is followed by Revised Standard Version, Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, and New English Bible. This gives a better parallelism between the first two lines. If translators follow the cave interpretation, these two lines can be translated as:
• What has happened to the city
that was like a den of lions,
the cave where young lions live?
Where the lion brought his prey: Good News Translation again follows the Hebrew text as it stands, with “where the lion and the lioness would go” (compare New International Version). The Hebrew word for “lioness” was understood by the ancient Greek translators as a slightly different word meaning “to enter.” Some modern translators follow this interpretation and understand the word “to enter” as referring to the lion’s return to his den after being out hunting. Thus Moffatt has “whither the Lion withdrew.” This interpretation also seems to be followed by Revised Standard Version, with its where the lion brought his prey. Many languages have no single word for prey. Some translators may have to use a phrase such as “the animals he killed.”
Even translators who follow the Hebrew as it stands are not all agreed as to its meaning. An alternative to the Good News Translation understanding can be seen in the Jerusalem Bible rendering, “When the lion made his foray the lioness stayed behind.”
The last line is literally where his cubs were, with none to disturb. In some languages this sentence may be expressed “Where nothing can hurt his cubs.” Good News Translation gives the same meaning but with simpler wording, “and their cubs would be safe.” Cubs is a word for the young of wild animals such as lions.
Verse 12 continues the comparison of Nineveh with a group of lions, and describes the conduct of the Assyrian soldiers in the past in terms of a lion hunting to feed his family.
The first two lines are parallel with each other: The lion tore enough for his whelps and strangled prey for his lionesses. Whelps is another word for the young of the lion, especially when they are very small. The picture is of the lion killing some other animal and taking some of its meat back for the lionesses and their offspring to eat. The word strangled is probably best understood as a forceful way of expressing the general meaning “kill.” Lions do in fact strangle their prey by biting the throat to cut off the air supply, especially when they attack larger animals. New English Bible translates “broke the neck”; this is another way lions kill their victims, but it is not the intended meaning of this text. The Hebrew word used here occurs elsewhere only at 2 Samuel 17.23. Good News Translation drops the parallel structure and expresses the meaning in logical order as “The lion killed his prey and tore it to pieces for his mate and her cubs.” Prey here may be rendered as “the animal he hunted.” For his lionesses … may be expressed as “so that his mates … may eat it.” A male lion often has more than one mate.
The second two lines are again parallel with each other: he filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh. Since these two lines say the same thing twice, they are put together into one line in Good News Translation as “he filled his den with torn flesh.”
If translators wish to run the two verses together and avoid a rhetorical question, the following may be a suitable translation model (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch):
• In the past Nineveh was like a den of lions, where the lion and lioness would go, where young lions were fed, and the cubs were safe. The lion used to kill his prey and tear it to pieces for his mates and cubs. He would fill his den with torn flesh. But now Nineveh has lost all its power! (or, But now Nineveh has itself been destroyed!)
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A . A Handbook on the Book of Nahum. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Translation commentary on Zephaniah 1:13
Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste: the material goods on which the people relied will be taken away from them. In languages which do not use the passive, translators may say “Their enemies will take away all their possessions, and will destroy their houses.”
The last part of the verse gives in traditional language a picture of people being disappointed in their hope for things which they would have expected to enjoy in the normal course of events: Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them. Good News Translation expresses the meaning more simply by doing away with the subordinate clauses and saying “They will never live in the houses they are building or drink wine from the vineyards they are planting.” The same picture is used to describe punishment in Deuteronomy 28.30; Amos 5.11; Micah 6.15. Vineyards may be rendered as “places for growing grapevines” or “gardens where grapevines are grown.” See Habakkuk 3.17 for further comments on the translation of “grapevines.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Zephaniah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Translation commentary on Zephaniah 3:14
In Hebrew this verse consists of two lines parallel with each other in thought but not in structure. The first line in Hebrew is translated as the first two lines of Revised Standard Version; it is itself composed of two parts parallel with each other in both thought and structure. Each part contains an imperative verb and a vocative, as shown in Revised Standard Version‘s literal translation: Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel!
The expression daughter of Zion refers to the community of people faithful to the LORD and is quite common in the Old Testament. It means the same here as Israel, and so Good News Translation combines the two parts of this line into one and says “Sing and shout for joy, people of Israel!” This sentence may also be rendered as “Sing and shout to show that you are joyful…” or “You people of Israel, sing and shout to show your joy.”
The second line of the Hebrew is translated as the last two lines of Revised Standard Version; it expresses the same thought but uses two verbal phrases with only one vocative, Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! Good News Translation combines the two verbs Rejoice and exult and simply says “Rejoice with all your heart.” The heart is here the source of the emotions, the very center of one’s personality, and in situations where some other organ is regarded as having this function, the translator should be free to use some other term, such as liver or throat.
The vocative daughter of Jerusalem refers to the small group of faithful Israelites who live in Jerusalem. Good News Translation translates as “Jerusalem,” since in this context it is already clear that the city stands for its inhabitants. However, in certain languages where one does not normally speak or talk to a city, it will be helpful to say “people of Jerusalem.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on the Book of Zephaniah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Translation commentary on Habakkuk 2:11
Habakkuk here pictures the stone and wood of the rich houses which the Babylonians had built as speaking out against them. It is as if these materials were witnesses of the cruelty and oppression of the people who built with them.
For the stone will cry out from the wall: Good News Translation puts this into a more natural order as “Even the stones of the walls cry out against you.” “Cry out against you” may be translated in some languages as “cry out accusing you” or “accuse you with a loud voice.”
And the beam from the woodwork respond: Good News Translation uses the technical term “rafters” in place of the beam from the woodwork. Good News Translation also translates respond with the expression “echo the cry,” which has a stronger emotive impact.
We may note that Babylonian houses were usually built with brick rather than stone, and the prophet is describing Babylonian homes in terms of the building materials he was familiar with in Palestine. In a similar way some translators may have to speak of building materials in common use in their own areas, such as clay and wood, or wood and thatch, rather than trying to describe “rafters.” So a possible alternative translation model is “and the wood (or thatch, or clay) in the roof cries back (or, echoes the cry).”
In some languages it may not be possible to speak of building materials crying out like people. In such cases it may be possible to make the figure of speech into a simile and say “It will be as if even the stones and woodwork of your houses bore witness to your evil deeds.”
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 .
Translation commentary on Nahum 1:5
The mountains quake before him: first of all, Nahum uses earthquakes as symbols of the LORD’s presence (“Mountains quake in the presence of the LORD” in Good News Translation). Then, with the words the hills melt, he seems to picture torrents of water running down the sides of the hills, perhaps as a result of the storm of verse 3. However, translators should remember that the writer is here trying to create a dramatic impression of the awesome majesty and power of the LORD, rather than to give a logical description of an earthquake or of a thunderstorm. The words the hills melt may be simply a poetic parallel to mountains quake (compare Judges 5.4-5; Micah 1.4; Hab 3.6). In some translations the words before him may need to be rendered as “when the LORD appears,” as Good News Translation has done in the second half of the verse. The first half of the verse can then be rendered as “When the LORD appears, the mountains quake and the hills melt.” In areas of the world which do not have mountains, it is possible to say “When the LORD appears, the high land (or, ground) quakes and melts.” Another way of restructuring before him is: “When the LORD shows his power….”
In the second half of the verse, there is some uncertainty as to what the earth does when the LORD appears. The Hebrew text contains a verb which means “is upheaved” (Revised Version). However, two ancient translations, the Syriac and the Latin, appear to have read the Hebrew as a very similar word which means “crash in ruins, become desolate.” Revised Standard Version is laid waste follows these ancient versions but does not acknowledge this in a footnote (compare also Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). In fact in this context it hardly makes any difference to the overall meaning which alternative is followed. This third line of the verse, in parallel with the first, pictures the earth as being in violent motion because of the LORD’s presence. Whether the motion is upwards (as in Revised Version) or downwards (as especially in Jerusalem Bible “collapses”) really is of little importance. Good News Translation‘s “shakes” can include both, and indeed can be derived from either of the possible Hebrew verbs, so that it is not entirely clear which one Good News Translation has followed (compare New International Version “trembles” and New English Bible “are in tumult”).
In the final line the effect produced by the LORD’s presence is extended to include both the world and all that dwell therein. The Hebrew word used here for world is different from the previous word for earth and refers particularly to those areas which are inhabited. In Hebrew the verb used to describe the action of the earth in the third line also applies to the action of the people in the fourth (compare Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New International Version, New Jewish Version [New Jerusalem Bible], Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Good News Translation gives the two lines a better balance by including the verb “tremble” in the fourth line. It is simply a synonym for shake and does not imply any significant difference in meaning. Translators may also use synonyms here, if these are available in their language and represent good style. In certain languages, though, translators may not be able to use the same word for upheaval both about people and about inanimate things such as the earth or world. In such a case one may translate the final line of the verse as “the world shakes and its people tremble” or “its people are in turmoil.”
Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A . A Handbook on the Book of Nahum. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1989. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .