Nahum 3:1-7

Woe to Nineveh

1 Woe to 1the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder-- 2no end to the prey!
2 The crack of the whip, and 3rumble of the wheel, 4galloping horse and 5bounding chariot!
3 Horsemen charging, flashing sword and 6glittering spear, 7hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end-- they stumble over the bodies!
4 And all for the countless whorings of the 8prostitute, 9graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms.
5 10Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and 11will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will make nations look at 12your nakedness and kingdoms at your shame.
6 I will throw filth at you and 13treat you with contempt and make you 14a spectacle.
7 And all who look at you 15will shrink from you and say, Wasted is 16Nineveh; 17who will grieve for her? 18Where shall I seek comforters for you?

Nahum 3:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NAHUM 3

In this chapter is contained the prophecy of the destruction of Nineveh, and with it the whole Assyrian empire; the causes of which, besides those before mentioned, were the murders, lies, and robberies it was full of, Na 3:1 for which it should be swiftly and cruelly destroyed, Na 3:2,3 as also its whoredoms and witchcrafts, or idolatry, by which nations and families were seduced, Na 3:4 and hence she should be treated as a harlot, her nakedness exposed, and she cast out with contempt, and mocked at by all, Na 3:5-7 and all those things she placed her confidence in are shown to be of no avail; as her situation and fortresses, as she might learn from the case of No Amon, Na 3:8-12 nor the number of her inhabitants, which were weak as women; nor even her merchants, captains, nobles, and king himself, Na 3:13-18 nor the people she was in alliance with, who would now mock at her, her case being irrecoverable and incurable, Na 3:19.

Cross References 18

  • 1. Ezekiel 24:9; [Habakkuk 2:12]
  • 2. [Nahum 2:12]
  • 3. [Nahum 2:4]
  • 4. [Judges 5:22]
  • 5. [Joel 2:5]
  • 6. Habakkuk 3:11
  • 7. [2 Kings 19:35]
  • 8. [Revelation 17:2; Revelation 18:3]
  • 9. [Isaiah 47:9, 12]
  • 10. [See Nahum 2:13 above]
  • 11. Jeremiah 13:22, 26; [Isaiah 3:17; Isaiah 47:3]
  • 12. Habakkuk 2:16
  • 13. Malachi 2:9; [Nahum 1:14]
  • 14. Hebrews 10:33; [1 Corinthians 4:9]
  • 15. Jeremiah 51:9; Revelation 18:10
  • 16. [Zephaniah 2:13]; See Nahum 1:1
  • 17. Isaiah 51:19; Jeremiah 15:5
  • 18. Lam. 1:2, 9, 16, 17, 21
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.