Nahum 3:1-8

1 Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs.
2 The noise of a whip And the noise of rattling wheels, Of galloping horses, Of clattering chariots!
3 Horsemen charge with bright sword and glittering spear. There is a multitude of slain, A great number of bodies, Countless corpses-- They stumble over the corpses--
4 Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries.
5 "Behold, I am against you," says the Lord of hosts; "I will lift your skirts over your face, I will show the nations your nakedness, And the kingdoms your shame.
6 I will cast abominable filth upon you, Make you vile, And make you a spectacle.
7 It shall come to pass that all who look upon you Will flee from you, and say, 'Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?' Where shall I seek comforters for you?"
8 Are you better than No Amon That was situated by the River, That had the waters around her, Whose rampart was the sea, Whose wall was the sea?

Nahum 3:1-8 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.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. That is, ancient Thebes; Targum and Vulgate read populous Alexandria.
  • [b]. Literally rivers, that is, the Nile and the surrounding canals
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.