Desolate! Desolation and ruin!: the first three words in Hebrew are similar to each other in both sound and meaning (buqah umebuqah umebullaqah). A number of English versions try to reproduce the same effect: “Raid and ravage and ruin” (Jerusalem Bible); “Desolation, devastation and destruction” (New Jerusalem Bible); “desolate, dreary, drained” (Moffatt). Good News Translation has the same approach but makes the subject explicit and says “Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, desolate!” If translators can find three terms in their own languages that are similar in sound, that would be good though it is not essential. As in some earlier verses the overall impression created by the verse is more important than the exact meaning of the individual terms. In languages which do not use the passive, this sentence poses problems. However, most languages without a passive form of the verb can describe these conditions by using alternative forms such as “suffer” or “receive”; for example, “Nineveh has suffered destruction, desertion, and desolation” or “Nineveh has received destruction….”

The rest of the verse describes the effect of the capture of Nineveh on its inhabitants. The language is pictorial, and translators should try to use appropriate pictures in their own languages rather than necessarily to translate literally the pictures of the Hebrew. In languages which have ideophones this may be a good place to use them.

Hearts faint and knees tremble: these are two aspects of the physical reactions of the people of Nineveh. The Hearts are regarded as the source of courage. If their Hearts faint (Good News Translation “melt”), the people will not be able to fight. If their knees tremble, they will not be able to run away either. Most languages have similar idioms which translators should try to use. Examples are “The heart flees and turns over” or “The heart falls.” Compare the description of Belshazzar’s reactions to the writing on the wall in Daniel 5.6.

Anguish is on all loins: it is not certain whether this is a description of a woman having labor pains (compare Isa 21.3), or whether the loins are regarded as the source of physical strength (compare Job 40.16). Good News Translation adopts the latter interpretation and drops the figure of speech, saying just “strength is gone.” If some part of the body other than the loins is regarded as the source of physical strength, translators may be able to refer to it here.

The last word of the verse in Hebrew is of uncertain meaning. It refers to some color, but it is not clear what color. Some translators render it as “black” (Moffatt) or “crimson” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), but the majority think that paleness fits better with a description of fear (compare Joel 2.6). Thus Revised Standard Version says all faces grow pale (compare Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, New International Version, Bible en français courant). Other modern versions have expressions of similar meaning: “blanched” (New American Bible), “drained of colour” (New English Bible), and “ashen” (New Jerusalem Bible; compare Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Translators should use word pictures or idioms which are natural in their languages for expressing reactions to fear; for example, “soul (or, guardian spirit) disappears and bile is stirred up” (Thai) or “teeth chatter uncontrollably.”

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 .