He who handles the bow shall not stand/Bowmen will not stand their ground. Good News Translation uses an English idiom “to stand one’s ground” meaning “to maintain one’s position in battle.” This is exactly the meaning of the Hebrew verb. However, idioms can rarely be translated literally, so usually a translator will have to describe the action: “the men who shoot the bow in battle will be forced to retreat,” or “the bowmen will not wait,” meaning that they will not even be able to take time to aim, or “they will not stand firm” (see Smith-Goodspeed, The Translator’s Old Testament).

Not all languages have a specific word for bowmen. Often a descriptive phrase has to be used as in Hebrew “he who handles the bow.” The translator may have to say, for example, “he who holds the bow in his hand” or “he who fights with a bow.” If the bow is not known, the translator may have to use a more generic term for weapon.

He who is swift of foot shall not save himself/not even fast runners will escape. Many languages have expressions similar to swift of foot, such as “men who have strong legs,” etc.

Nor shall he who rides the horse save his life/men on horses will not escape with their lives. It will be necessary in many cases to use a descriptive phrase for men on horses, especially when horses are not used in the local culture. Normally they will at least be known, and there will be some term for them. Using horses in battle may be less widely known than horses themselves. In such cases the use of the horses may have to be clear: “men who ride horses as they fight their enemies.”

Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .