Nahum 3:2

2 Listen! The crack of the whip, the rattle of wheels, the gallop of horses, the jolting of chariots!

Nahum 3:2 Meaning and Commentary

Nahum 3:2

The noise of a whip
Of a horseman or chariot driver whipping his horses to make speed to Nineveh, and enter into it, so near as to be heard by the inhabitants of it; and is thus represented in order to strike terror into them: and the noise of the rattling of the wheels;
that is, of the chariots upon the stones, whose drivers drove Jehu like, making the utmost haste they could to get in first, and seize the prey: and of the pransing horses;
or bounding steeds, upon a full gallop; either with horsemen on them riding full speed to partake of the booty; or in chariots, in which they caper and prance, and shake the ground as they go; hence it follows: and of the jumping chariots;
which, through the swiftness of the motion, seem to leap and dance as they run along.

Nahum 3:2 In-Context

1 Doomed is the lying, murderous city, full of wealth to be looted and plundered!

2 Listen! The crack of the whip, the rattle of wheels, the gallop of horses, the jolting of chariots!

3 Cavalry troops charge, swords flash, spears gleam! Corpses are piled high, dead bodies without number - men stumble over them!

4 Nineveh the whore is being punished. Attractive and full of deadly charms, she enchanted nations and enslaved them.

5 The Lord Almighty says, "I will punish you, Nineveh! I will strip you naked and let the nations see you, see you in all your shame.