Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nahum 3:12:
Kupsabiny: “Where it is heavily guarded (fortress) shall be like a fig tree which is very ripe. When that fig tree is shaken, its fruits fall down into the mouth of the one eating (them).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Your fortresses are like a fig tree with its first fruit. When they are shaken figs fall into the mouth of those who eat them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “All your (plur.) stone-walled cities will-be like a fig tree whose first fruits are already ripe; and when (this) indeed will-be-shaken the fruits just fall-down and then can be-eaten already.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Your enemies will cause the walls around your city to fall down like the first figs that fall from fig trees each year. Your city will be captured easily, like figs that fall into the mouths of those who shake the fig trees.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Two types of fig trees are mentioned in the Bible, the Common Fig Ficus carica (Hebrew te’enah) and the Sycomore Fig Ficus sycomorus (Hebrew shiqmah; see “Sycomore fig”). They are closely related. The common fig tree grows not only in Israel, but throughout the world in warm climates. In the Holy Land it was a common source of food; the fruit was eaten both fresh and dried. Sometimes the dried ones were pressed together to form flat “cakes” or blocks (Hebrew develah). But, just as important, the large leaves of the fig make it an excellent shade tree. However, the first use of the fig mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 3:7) was not for food or shade but for clothing; Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves for themselves to cover their nakedness.
The fig was probably domesticated in northwestern Turkey from a wild variety that grew there around 5000 years ago. Greek, Roman, and Egyptian records indicate that the fruits were popular. Figs are now grown especially in Israel, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Portugal, as well as in the warm parts of the United States.
The fig is believed to be indigenous to western Asia and to have been distributed by humans and birds throughout the Mediterranean area. Remnants of figs have been found in excavations of sites traced to at least 5000 B.C.
The domesticated fig grows to about 5-8 meters (17-26 feet) and has a round crown and very deep and round roots. The trunk may grow to be more than 70 centimeters (2 feet) thick. Fig trees may grow to be several decades old, if they are well cared for. Figs are usually propagated by planting cuttings. The pollination of the flowers is an amazingly intricate process closely linked to the life cycle of a tiny wasp, and the fact that fig trees, like papayas and date palms, are male or female. (There are now some kinds of figs that produce fruit without pollination.) The fruits are about the size of a hen’s egg and can be green, yellow, purple, or brown depending on the type. They are sweet and soft and difficult to transport. For that reason most farmers dry the fruits before shipping them. The “fruit” of the fig is technically a strangely shaped flower. Noting the absence of a “real” flower, the ancient people of India called it a flowerless tree.
The common fig tree, along with the vine and the olive, is one of the three “top trees” for the Jews. The Bible refers to the fig over 270 times. The image of peace and happiness in Israel was “every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (1 Kings 4:25).
Wild figs are common throughout the tropical world; there are at least eight hundred species of Ficus, thirty-two in southern Africa alone. The banyan, peepul, and bo are all types of fig. The fruits of wild fig trees are not nearly as juicy or sweet as those of the domesticated ones. In many places people eat the fruit when they find it in the wild, but do not market it or cultivate the trees. Translators are urged to use the local word, and, if necessary, use a footnote to indicate the difference between the local one and the biblical one. Where it is not known at all, transliterations from a major language may be used in nonfigurative contexts.
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 Versionif 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 .
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