Their eyes failing represents their seeking and not being able to find what they were looking for. These two phrases together emphasize that they were trying hard to find help. AT: "We continued looking, but we could not find anyone to help us" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])
# we watched for a nation that could not rescue us
Here "watched" represents hoping. It can be stated clearly that they were hoping that a nation would come and rescue them. AT: "we hoped for a nation to come and rescue us, but it could not rescue us" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])
# They followed our steps
Here "our steps" represents where they went. AT: "Our enemies followed us everywhere we went" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])
# Our end was near
Here "near" is a metaphor for "soon." AT: "Our end would be soon" or "Our enemies would soon destroy us" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# Our end
Possible meanings are 1) "Our end" refers to the end of living in their own city because their enemies would destroy the city and capture them. AT: "Our destruction" or "Our capture" or 2) "Our end" refers to the end of their lives. AT: "Our death" or "The time for us to die" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])
# our days were numbered
Being numbered represents being so few that they could be easily counted. AT: "we had very little time" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# our end had come
The phrase "had come" means that what they had expected was now happening. AT: "it was now the end for us" or "our enemies were attacking us" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
See in Reader
