Nahum 3

1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; stealing does not depart from her!

2 The noise of the whip and the noise of the rattling of the wheels and of the prancing horses and of the jumping chariots shall be heard in thee.

3 The horseman lifts up both the bright sword and the glittering spear, and there is a multitude of slain and a great number of carcasses; and there shall be no end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses,

4 because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the harlot of beautiful grace, the mistress of witchcrafts that sells the Gentiles into slavery through her whoredoms and peoples through her witchcrafts.

5 Here I am against thee, saith the LORD of the hosts, and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will show the Gentiles thy nakedness and the kingdoms thy shame.

6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee and make thee vile and will set thee as dung.

7 And it shall come to pass, that all those that look upon thee shall flee from thee and say, Nineveh is laid waste; who will bemoan her? from where shall I seek comforters for thee?

8 Art thou better than populous No that was situated among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

9 Ethiopia was thy strength and Egypt with no limit; Put and Libia went to thy aid.

10 Yet she was carried away, she went into captivity; her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her nobles were bound in chains.

11 Thou also shalt be drunken; thou shalt be encompassed; thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

12 All thy strongholds are like fig trees with the firstripe figs; if they are shaken, they even fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee shall be like women; the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire shall devour thy bars.

14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brickkiln.

15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven; the cankerworm spoils and flies away.

17 Thy princes shall be as the locusts and thy captains as the great grasshoppers which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun arises, they flee away, and it is not known where they were.

18 Thy shepherds have slumbered, O king of Assyria; thy valiant ones are at rest; thy people scattered themselves upon the mountains, and there is no one to unite them.

19 There is no cure for thy destruction; thy wound is grievous; all that hear thy story shall clap their hands over thee; for upon whom has not thy wickedness passed continually?

Nahum 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

The sins and judgments of Nineveh. (1-7) Its utter destruction. (8-19)

Verses 1-7 When proud sinners are brought down, others should learn not to lift themselves up. The fall of this great city should be a lesson to private persons, who increase wealth by fraud and oppression. They are preparing enemies for themselves; and if the Lord sees good to punish them in this world, they will have none to pity them. Every man who seeks his own prosperity, safety, and peace, should not only act in an upright, honourable manner, but with kindness to all.

Verses 8-19 Strong-holds, even the strongest, are no defence against the judgments of God. They shall be unable to do any thing for themselves. The Chaldeans and Medes would devour the land like canker-worms. The Assyrians also would be eaten up by their own numerous hired troops, which seem to be meant by the word rendered "merchants." Those that have done evil to their neighbours, will find it come home to them. Nineveh, and many other cities, states, and empires, have been ruined, and should be a warning to us. Are we better, except as there are some true Christians amongst us, who are a greater security, and a stronger defence, than all the advantages of situation or strength? When the Lord shows himself against a people, every thing they trust in must fail, or prove a disadvantage; but he continues good to Israel. He is a strong-hold for every believer in time of trouble, that cannot be stormed or taken; and he knoweth those that trust in Him.

Chapter Summary

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.