en_tn/mic/07/17.md

They will lick the dust like a snake

Snakes slither on the ground where dust gets on them, and here the people are being compared to snakes, though it is probably an exaggeration that they will lick the dust. Possible meanings are that these people 1) will literally lie on the ground in shame or 2) will be so ashamed and humbled that it will be as if they were lying on the ground. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-hyperbole and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-simile and rc://en/ta/man/jit/translate-symaction)

their fortresses

Some versions read, "their dens," continuing the simile of the nations (verse 16) being like "a snake" and "creatures that crawl" with animal dens as a metaphor for the people's fortresses. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-simile and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor)