Nahúm 2:11

11 ¿Dónde está ahora la magnífica Nínive,
esa guarida repleta de cachorros de león?
Era un lugar donde la gente —como leones con sus cachorros—
caminaba libremente y sin temor.

Nahúm 2:11 Meaning and Commentary

Nahum 2:11

Where [is] the dwelling of the lions?
&c.] Of the kings of Assyria, comparable to lions for their strength, courage, and cruelty, tyranny, and oppression; such as Pul, Tiglathpileser, Shalmaneser, and Sennacherib. So the Targum,

``where are the habitations of kings?''

these are the words, either of the prophet, or of the people that had seen this city in its glory, and now see it in its ruins; and so desolate and waste, as that it could scarcely be said where it once stood: and the feedingplace of the young lions?
the sons of the kings of Assyria, the princes of the blood, and who were of the same blood, temper, and disposition of their ancestors, and were born, brought up, and educated, in Nineveh the royal city. So the Targum,

``and the dwelling houses of the princes,''

or governors: where the lion, [even] the old lion, walked:
not Nebuchadnezzar, as Jerom, who entered into Nineveh the den of those lions, or seat of the Assyrians, and took it, and walked about in it, as the conqueror and possessor of it; but rather Nimrod, that old lion and tyrant, if he was the first founder of this city, as some say; though it does not seem so much to design any particular person, but the kings of Assyria in general, even the most cruel and savage, as the old lion is. So the Targum in the plural number,

``whither the kings went;''

and the lion's whelp, and none made [them] afraid:
there were none to resist their power, curb their insolence, and put a stop to their cruelty and oppression; or make them afraid of pursuing such methods. The Targum is,

``there they leave their children, even as a lion that continues in hunting with confidence, and there is none that terrifies.''

Nahúm 2:11 In-Context

9 ¡Roben la plata!
¡Saqueen el oro!
Los tesoros de Nínive no tienen fin,
su riqueza es incalculable.

10 Pronto la ciudad es saqueada, queda vacía y en ruinas.
Los corazones se derriten y tiemblan las rodillas.
La gente queda horrorizada,
con la cara pálida, temblando de miedo.

11 ¿Dónde está ahora la magnífica Nínive,
esa guarida repleta de cachorros de león?
Era un lugar donde la gente —como leones con sus cachorros—
caminaba libremente y sin temor.

12 El león despedazaba carne para sus cachorros
y estrangulaba presas para su leona.
Llenaba la guarida de presas
y sus cavernas con su botín.

13 «¡Yo soy tu enemigo!
—dice el Señor
de los Ejércitos Celestiales—.
Tus carros de guerra serán quemados;
tus jóvenes
morirán en la batalla.
Nunca más saquearás las naciones conquistadas.
No volverán a oírse las voces de tus orgullosos mensajeros».