The description continues by emphasizing the terrifying and destructive effects of the LORD’s presence, especially upon the waters and the vegetation that they support.

The first line, He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, is probably an allusion to the time when the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea (Exo 14; compare Psa 106.9). Rebukes (Good News Translation “commands”) has the sense of “giving an order to” rather than “scolding.” Some translators may wish to render this sentence as “He commands the sea to dry up, and it does so.” In a similar manner the second line, he dries up all the rivers, alludes to the crossing of the River Jordan at the entrance to the promised land (Josh 3.16-17; 4.23). However, these two miraculous events, which were of special importance in the history of the LORD’s people, are here taken as standing for the LORD’s complete power over the whole of nature. So translators should not use language which indicates a particular sea or river.

The second half of the verse deals with the results of the drying up of water supplies: even the most fertile parts of the land will suffer drought and lose their vegetation. Bashan was a well-watered area to the east of the Jordan and was famous for its flocks of sheep and herds of cattle (Amos 4.1; Micah 7.14). If it were to wither, there would be no grass left for the animals to eat, and so they would die. In many languages a country or territory cannot be referred to as “withering”; rather it is the fields or grass that “wither.” In such a case translators will do well to translate in a similar way to Good News Translation, which makes explicit the fact that Bashan has rich “fields,” in order to help readers who do not know the area. In some languages it will be necessary to indicate that these are fields with abundant grass, rather than plowed fields where crops are grown.

Carmel is the highest point along the Mediterranean coast of Palestine, near the modern town of Haifa. Good News Translation makes it explicit that Carmel is a “Mount” to help readers who are not familiar with the name. The name Carmel means “orchard,” and the slopes of the mountain, especially on the southern side, were famous for their fertility. If even Carmel dries up, then the rest of the land will be in a desperate condition. Some translators may wish to say “The trees on Mount Carmel die” (compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

The bloom of Lebanon fades: bloom here refers to “flowers,” as Good News Translation makes clear. Lebanon refers not to the whole of the modern country of Lebanon, but to the mountain range which runs north and south, more or less parallel to the coast. This range is much higher than Mount Carmel and is often snow-covered (the name Lebanon means “white”). As the snows melted, the slopes of the mountains received plenty of water and so had plentiful vegetation. When the prophet speaks of the LORD causing the well-watered Lebanon range to suffer from a drought, he is emphasizing the great power of the LORD.

Taken together, the three places, Bashan, Carmel, and Lebanon, represent the most fertile parts of the land, as in Isaiah 33.9; 35.2. In some translations it may help to make this explicit and say “Even the most fertile parts of the land dry up, the fields of grass in Bashan, the orchards of Mount Carmel, and the flowers on the Lebanon mountains.” These three places are shown on the map entitled “Division of Canaan” in the American edition of Good News Translation, and on the map entitled “Divided Israelite Kingdoms” in the British edition.

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 .