Fortresses, in this context, were towns or cities with especially strong and high walls, and which guarded Assyria’s borders from attack. They were often situated at mountain passes, where enemies would be most likely to try to invade the land. If no better term is available, fortresses may be translated “cities with strong walls,” “cities protected by strong walls,” or “large groups of houses surrounded by strong walls.”
The Assyrians will not be able to escape anywhere (see previous verse) because all their fortresses will be captured by their enemies. This is stated in a vivid metaphor which compares the fortresses to trees full of ripe fruit. All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs: fig trees were common in Palestine, and the first-ripe figs were considered a delicacy. The fig tree usually grows about three to five meters (ten to fifteen feet) tall. The fruit has a high sugar content and can be dried, made into pressed cakes, and then stored like raisins for later use. In areas where fig trees are not known, translators are urged to use a generic word for “tree” followed by the word “fig”; for example, “with first-ripe fruit from the tree called ‘fig.’ ” It is also possible to use a general term like “fruit trees.” It is better to translate in this way than to substitute the name of some other fruit tree like the mango or the papaw (pawpaw, papaya) which were not known in Palestine. It will also be helpful to have a descriptive footnote or an entry in the word list. If a translator has used the name Nineveh in the previous verse, it will be helpful in this verse to say “All the fortresses of you Assyrians” or something similar. Otherwise readers may understand the pronoun your as referring to the city of Nineveh, rather than to the Assyrian empire with Nineveh as its capital.
The second half of the verse is literally a conditional sentence, as in Revised Standard Version if shaken they fall. In English one way to express the condition is by using an imperative, and this is what Good News Translation has done: “shake the trees, and the fruit falls.” Most languages will not be able to express a condition in this way and may have to say something like the following: “When you shake the trees….” Translators should use whatever construction is natural in their language.
The last part of the sentence, they fall into the mouth of the eater, is of course an exaggeration for a special effect. The Hebrews did not make a habit of shaking fig trees and catching the fruit in their mouths! The meaning is that the figs are so ripe that they are absolutely ready to eat as soon as they come off the tree. Some translators may need to state this meaning without the use of exaggeration. A translation base for this whole sentence can be “when you shake the tree, the fruit falls off, ready to eat at once.”
In saying that the Assyrian fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs, Nahum means that they will easily be captured by their attackers. In some languages it may be necessary to restructure the whole verse to make the basis of the comparison explicit. One can say, for instance, “Just as ripe figs are ready to eat, and fall as soon as someone shakes the tree, so your fortresses are ready to fall to your enemies as soon as they attack.”
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 .