en_tn/jer/49/23.md

# General Information:

Yahweh tells what will happen to the people of Damascus.

# Hamath and Arpad will be ashamed

Here "Hamath" and "Arpad" represent the people who live there. AT: "The people who live in Hamath and Arpad will be ashamed" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])

# Hamath and Arpad

These are cities in Syria. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])

# They melt away

Being scared is spoken of as if the person were melting. AT: "They are very scared!" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])

# They become as troubled as the sea, which cannot stay calm

The water of the sea is always moving and is never still. This is compared to the people who cannot rest because they are so anxious about the bad news they heard. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])

# Damascus has become very weak. It turns ... seizes it

Here "Damascus" represents the people who live there. AT: "The people of Damascus have become very weak. They turn ... seizes them" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])

# terror seizes it

The abstract noun "terror" can be stated as the verb "terrified." AT: "Damascus is terrified" or "The people of Damascus are terrified"

# Distress and pain seize it, like the pain of a woman giving birth

This can be restated to remove the abstract nouns "distress" and "pain." The people are compared to a woman giving birth to emphasize their pain and fear. AT: "The people are afraid and suffering like a woman giving birth" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-abstractnouns]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])

# How has the city of praise not been forsaken, the town of my joy?

Yahweh uses a question to express that the people should have left the city. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "This famous city once caused me to rejoice, but now the people should leave it." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])

# How has the city of praise not been forsaken, the town of my joy?

Some Bibles translate this with the people of Damascus speaking. AT: "The people of Damascus say, 'The famous city, which once made us rejoice, is now empty.'"