Nahum 3:12-19

12 All thy strongholds are like fig trees with the firstripe figs; if they are shaken, they even fall into the mouth of the eater.

13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee shall be like women; the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies; the fire shall devour thy bars.

14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the mortar, make strong the brickkiln.

15 There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off; it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven; the cankerworm spoils and flies away.

17 Thy princes shall be as the locusts and thy captains as the great grasshoppers which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun arises, they flee away, and it is not known where they were.

18 Thy shepherds have slumbered, O king of Assyria; thy valiant ones are at rest; thy people scattered themselves upon the mountains, and there is no one to unite them.

19 There is no cure for thy destruction; thy wound is grievous; all that hear thy story shall clap their hands over thee; for upon whom has not thy wickedness passed continually?

Nahum 3:12-19 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.