In this verse Nahum describes the appearance of the enemy soldiers as they begin their attack on Nineveh. The description takes up the theme of verse 1. In the phrase his mighty men, his refers back to “The shatterer” or “The power that will shatter” (Good News Translation) in verse 1. Good News Translation makes the meaning more explicit by saying “The enemy soldiers.”
Two facts are stated about these soldiers: they “carry red shields and wear uniforms of red” (Good News Translation). It is not certain whether the shields looked red because they were covered with dyed leather (compare Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or because they were made of copper which reflected the sun (compare 1 Maccabees 6.39). The clause “wear uniforms of red” may be rendered as “wear red uniforms” or “wear clothing made of red cloth.”
The Hebrew word used to describe the color of the uniforms is a different word from that used to describe the color of the shields, and perhaps implies a different shade of red (compare scarlet in Revised Standard Version and most other modern English versions). However, in many languages there is only one word for red, and it is quite adequate to translate both terms by the same word, as Good News Translation does. Red uniforms were in fact characteristic of the Medes and Babylonians (Ezek 23.14), who captured Nineveh.
The chariots flash like flame: the word translated flash is a word which does not occur anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible and whose meaning is unknown. Some scholars think it means “steel” (Revised Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible; compare New International Version) and speaks of the material from which the chariots were made. Others relate it to a word of similar spelling which means “torches” (New Jerusalem Bible). Others see instead a word which means flash. Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are in this last group, and Good News Translation translates “Their chariots flash like fire!” This may again be a reference to the sun reflecting off the polished metal of the chariots. Chariots were light two-wheeled carts pulled by two horses and used in battle. Usually two or three people would ride in them, one to drive and the others to fight. Chariots in some languages will need to be translated by a phrase; for example, “horse-drawn war carts” or “war carts pulled by horses.”
The last two words of the clause are clear in their meaning, but it is not certain exactly what aspect of the battle they refer to. They say literally “in the day of his preparation” (King James Version, Revised Version). Most translations link them with the description of the chariots. Thus Revised Standard Version has when mustered in array, and New English Bible has “when the line is formed.” Good News Translation treats these two words as a more general description of the enemy preparations and says “They are preparing to attack!” Good News Translation places these words before the mention of the chariots in order to give the general statement before the more specific ones. In many languages it will be helpful to designate the object of the verb “attack” and say “they are preparing to attack Nineveh.”
The chargers prance: in this last line the Hebrew contains a word that refers to a kind of tree (“fir” in King James Version, “cypress” in New Jerusalem Bible, “pine” in New International Version). If this wording is correct, the name of the tree stands for the weapons made from its wood (“arrows” in New Jerusalem Bible, “spears” in New International Version; compare Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). This interpretation is not paralleled anywhere else in the Old Testament but makes good sense here, provided one uses a verb that can apply to weapons, such as “the spears of pine are brandished” (New International Version). However, the ancient Greek translation, the Septuagint, understands here a similar word which occurs in 3.3 and means “horsemen” (Jerusalem Bible) or “horses” (New American Bible, Good News Translation). Revised Standard Version accepts this possibility but uses the word chargers, which means horses specially trained for use in battle.
Prance describes the impatient movements of the horses as they wait for the battle to begin. In areas where horses are not well known, the languages may not have a single word for this kind of movement. In such cases translators may say something like “the horses wait impatiently for action” (compare Jerusalem Bible). Another way to express the prancing action is to say “the horses move their feet impatiently as they wait for battle.” It may also be possible to use here a term that ordinarily describes the foot movements of some animals other than horses.
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 .