Nahum 3:1-4

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.

Nahum 3:1-4 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

• 1. 3:1 Ezek. 24:9; [Hab. 2:12]
• 2. 3:1 [ch. 2:12]
• 3. 3:2 [ch. 2:4]
• 4. 3:2 [Judg. 5:22]
• 5. 3:2 [Joel 2:5]
• 6. 3:3 Hab. 3:11
• 7. 3:3 [2 Kgs. 19:35]
• 8. 3:4 [Rev. 17:2; 18:3]
• 9. 3:4 [Isa. 47:9, 12]