Naum 2:11

11 Where is the dwelling-place of the lions, and the pasture that belonged to the whelps? where did the lion go, that the lion's whelp should enter in there, and there was none to scare away?

Naum 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.''

Naum 2:11 In-Context

9 They plundered the silver, they plundered the gold, and there was no end of their adorning; they were loaded upon all their pleasant vessels.

10 thrusting forth, and shaking, and tumult, and heart-breaking, and loosing of knees, and pangs on all loins; and the faces of all as the blackening of a pot.

11 Where is the dwelling-place of the lions, and the pasture that belonged to the whelps? where did the lion go, that the lion's whelp should enter in there, and there was none to scare away?

12 The lion seized enough prey for his whelps, and strangled for his lions, and filled his lair with prey, and his dwelling-place with spoil.

13 Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will burn up thy multitude in the smoke, and the sword shall devour thy lions; and I will utterly destroy thy prey from off the land, and thy deeds shall no more at all be heard of.