The events mentioned in this verse do not seem to follow a logical or chronological order. The first clause makes a general statement about the result of the capture of Thebes, and the other three clauses state other events associated with that capture. The clauses can be reordered if this is helpful in a receptor language.

Despite the great power Thebes had enjoyed, Yet she was carried away, she went into captivity. This the Assyrians would know very well, because it was their own armies under King Asshurbanipal that had captured Thebes and exiled its people. Good News Translation makes it explicit that she refers to the inhabitants rather than the city, by saying “the people of Thebes.”

The Hebrew actually uses two verbs (carried away and went into captivity in Revised Standard Version), but Good News Translation runs these together into the one English phrase “were carried off into exile.” “Exile” means being forced to live in another place, usually a distant country. Other ways of translating this sentence are “Yet their enemies carried away the people of Thebes into exile” or “Yet their enemies led off the people of Thebes as prisoners into a distant country.”

The rest of the verse describes what the Assyrian soldiers had done when they captured Thebes, and carries the implied threat that the same sort of things will be done to the people of Nineveh.

Her little ones were dashed in pieces at the head of every street: little ones (Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible) refers to small children; compare “infants” (New English Bible, New International Version), “babes” (New Jerusalem Bible). Such cruel actions were not uncommon in the ancient world (compare 2 Kgs 8.12; Psa 137.9; Isa 13.16; Hos 13.16). Good News Translation‘s “beaten to death” is not as vivid as Revised Standard Version‘s dashed in pieces but states the meaning in very general terms. In some languages it will be necessary to expand this clause and say “the children were taken and smashed against the stones until they died,” or in languages which do not use the passive, one may say “the enemy soldiers took the children and smashed them against the stones….” If possible, translators should use strong words that will carry the deep emotional effect of the passage.

The words at the head of every street are not necessarily to be taken literally. They mean “in public view, and at many places all over the city” (compare Isa 51.20; Lam 2.19).

The last part of the verse speaks of what happened to the honored men of Thebes. Lots were cast for them and they were bound in chains. In both these clauses it will be necessary in many languages to state the agent doing the action and say “The enemy soldiers cast lots for the leading men of Thebes and bound them with chains.” The purpose of casting lots was to decide who would get each man as a slave. It is not certain what type of lots were used here. However, in many cultures stones with people’s names written on them would be shaken in some sort of container and then thrown on the ground. The first stone to reach the ground showed the person chosen. In the case in this verse, slaves were being picked. Certain cultures today have similar methods for choosing, and translators in such cultures will have no problem selecting vocabulary that will suit this context. However, if in a particular culture such a practice as casting lots does not exist, translators may follow Good News Translation as a translation model. Good News Translation reverses the order of these two actions and gives them in the sequence in which they probably happened: “Their leading men were carried off in chains and divided among their captors.” In cultures where chains are not used, one may say “Their leading men were made captives, and their hands and feet were tied with ropes made of metal.” There is no significant difference in meaning between the two phrases honored men and great men. Good News Translation therefore avoids repetition by using just the one phrase “leading men.” In other languages there may be pairs of synonymous expressions which can be used here.

Another translation model for the entire verse is the following: Yet the enemy soldiers captured the people of Thebes and led them off to a distant country. They dashed their children to pieces at many places all over the city. Their captors bound Thebes’ leading men with chains and divided them up among themselves by casting lots.

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 .