# Why are your mighty ones face-down on the ground? They will not stand

Some Bibles translate this as "Why has Apis fled? Why did your bull not stand?" Apis was an Egyptian god that was represented by the form of a bull. The bull is often a symbol for strength. That is why the ULB and other versions of the Bible translate this as "strong ones" or "mighty ones," which refers to soldiers.

# Why are your mighty ones face-down on the ground? They will not stand

Yahweh uses a question to mock the strength of the Egyptian soldiers. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "Your soldiers are face-down on the ground and will not stand" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])

# He increases the numbers of those who stumble

"Yahweh causes more and more of your soldiers to stumble"

# Let us leave this sword that is beating us down

Here "sword" represents the enemy soldiers who are carrying weapons. AT: "Let us run away from our enemies because they are killing us" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])

# They proclaimed there

Possible meanings are 1) "they" refers to people in general who are in Egypt or 2) "they" refers to the foreign soldiers who are fleeing to their native lands of Cush, Put, and Lud.

# Pharaoh the king of Egypt is only a noise, one who has let his opportunity slip away

These two phrases are saying that the nation of Egypt has become of little importance. The phrase "only a noise" is an idiom that means a person says he will do something but he does not do it. AT: "Pharaoh brags much but cannot do what he brags he will" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom]])

# translationWords

* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/yahweh]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/peoplegroup]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/sword]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/other/proclaim]]
* [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/names/pharaoh]]