HolyStudy
Bible IndexRead BibleNotesChurchesMissionPrivacyTermsContact
© 2026 HolyStudy
HomeRead BibleBible NotesChurchesSign in
HolyStudy
HomeRead BibleBible NotesChurches
Sign in

Nahum 3

1

Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;

2
2

The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.

1
3

The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses:

2
3
4

Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.

2
5

Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.

1
6

And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.

1
7

And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?

1
8

Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was from the sea?

3
9

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and Lubim were thy helpers.

1
10

Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.

1
11

Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.

1
12

All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater.

13

Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are 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 morter, make strong the brickkiln.

2
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 spoileth, and flieth away.

1
17

Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.

2
18

Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them.

2
19

There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?

← Previous ChapterNext Chapter →

Nahum 3

Nahum concludes his prophecy with a final woe against Nineveh, denouncing the city as the bloody city full of lies and plunder, whose streets are choked with corpses and wounded dead. The prophet condemns the predatory nature of Assyrian power, comparing the city to a harlot who seduces nations through her beauty and witchcraft, drawing them into her snare only to plunder and subjugate them. Nahum catalogs Nineveh's historical atrocities—the siege and fall of Thebes in Egypt—as evidence that not even the greatest and most protected cities escape the Lord's judgment when they become instruments of injustice and oppression. The prophet announces that Nineveh's shame will be exposed to all peoples, that her guards will flee away, and that her mighty men will slumber in death—reversing the image of imperial power and security into one of helplessness and vulnerability. Nahum declares that there is no healing for Nineveh's wounds; her injury is mortal, her fate irreversible, and all who hear the news of her fall will clap their hands in relief and vindication. The book concludes by emphasizing that Nineveh's cruelty has extended throughout the earth, oppressing many peoples, and that her destruction brings universal blessing and relief to those who have suffered under her dominion. In redemptive history, Nahum's prophecy affirms that divine justice ultimately triumphs over human oppression and that God's judgment, though terrible, serves the purpose of establishing righteousness and protecting the vulnerable.

Nahum 3:1

Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and booty; the prey does not depart—Nineveh is indicted as a city of violence, deception, and relentless predation. The characterization establishes Nineveh's moral depravity as the basis for judgment; it is not merely a political rival but a fundamentally corrupt civilization built on rapine and falsehood. The 'woe' introduces the prophetic lament that catalogs both crime and punishment.

Nahum 3:2

The crack of the whip, the rumbling of the wheel, galloping horse, and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear—vivid onomatopoetic imagery renders the sound and fury of military assault overwhelming Nineveh. The accumulation of martial imagery creates an overwhelming sensory picture of battle-chaos descending on the city. The intensity conveys that resistance is futile against such overwhelming force.

Nahum 3:3

Horsemen charging, flashing sword, and glittering spear! Countless slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over the bodies—the horrifying toll of judgment illustrated through piled corpses and the inability to navigate streets filled with the dead. The repetition and escalation emphasize the totality of slaughter; the city becomes a necropolis. The verse vividly illustrates the human cost of rejecting God's sovereignty.

Nahum 3:4

All because of the countless whorings of the prostitute, the mistress of sorceries, who sells nations through her whorings and peoples through her sorceries—Nineveh is depicted as a seductress using supernatural deception to enslave other nations. The metaphor of prostitution and witchcraft encompasses both Nineveh's military seduction of vassal-states and its religious deception; the city's power corrupted through idolatry and false religion. This verse shifts the indictment from mere violence to moral and spiritual perversity.

Nahum 3:5

Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts; I will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will let nations look on your nakedness and kingdoms on your shame—divine judgment includes shameful exposure and public humiliation. The imagery of lifted skirts, while graphic, emphasizes the reversal of Nineveh's boasted dignity; what was hidden and shameful becomes exposed before all witnesses. The public nature of the judgment magnifies the humiliation.

Nahum 3:6

I will cast abominable filth upon you and treat you with contempt and make you a gazingstock—the desecration involves literal filth and metaphorical contempt, rendering Nineveh an object of universal loathing. The degradation extends beyond destruction to the deliberate infliction of shame; Nineveh becomes a cautionary spectacle. This verse illustrates that divine judgment includes not only physical destruction but spiritual and social obliteration.

Nahum 3:7

And all who look upon you will shrink from you and say, 'Nineveh is laid waste; who will grieve for her? From where shall I seek comforters for you?'—the rhetorical question emphasizes Nineveh's total isolation and the universal contempt attending its fall. No mourners will arise to lament Nineveh; the city has squandered all sympathy through its cruelty. The verse emphasizes the moral and relational bankruptcy underlying the physical ruin.

Nahum 3:8

Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, and water her wall?—the reference to Egypt's Thebes (No-Amon), destroyed by Assyria itself, provides a historical parallel and warning. Thebes, once mighty and protected by location and fortification, fell to Assyrian arms; Nineveh's boasted strength offers no greater protection than Thebes possessed. The comparison aims to shatter Nineveh's confidence in its security.

Nahum 3:9

Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength, and it was infinite; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. Yet she became a captive; her young children were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; and for her nobles, lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains—the historical memory of Thebes' allies and fate prefigures Nineveh's. Despite vast external support and resources, Thebes fell to destruction, its children massacred and its leaders enslaved. The verse serves as historical prophecy: Nineveh will suffer identically.

Nahum 3:10

Yet she became a captive; her young children were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; and for her nobles, lots were cast, and all her great men were bound in chains—the catalog of horrors attending Thebes' capture (infanticide, enslavement of nobility) established the precedent Nineveh would follow. The brutality reflects the standard practices of ancient Near Eastern warfare; the comparison suggests that Nineveh, having inflicted such atrocities on others, can expect them in turn. Historical memory becomes warning.

Nahum 3:11

You also will be drunken; you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the enemy—Nineveh's fate parallels Thebes': stupor, concealment, and futile flight anticipate the city's desperate final hours. The imagery of drunkenness suggests both literal wine-fueled abandonment of reason and metaphorical delusion about Nineveh's security. Hiding and seeking refuge undermine the mythology of Assyrian invincibility.

Nahum 3:12

All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs—if shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater—the metaphor depicts Nineveh's vaunted fortifications as easily plucked and consumed. The image suggests both the apparent strength of the structures and their actual brittleness; they look formidable but offer no real defense. The 'eater' receiving them effortlessly undercuts all pretense of defensive capability.

Nahum 3:13

Behold, your troops are women in your midst; the gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire has devoured your bars—the mockery of Nineveh's military as 'women' invokes ancient Near Eastern shame-language while the breached gates and consumed bars describe literal destruction. The emasculation serves as theological commentary: Assyria's strength evaporates before divine judgment. The complete breach of defenses emphasizes vulnerability.

Nahum 3:14

Draw water for the siege; strengthen your forts; go into the mud and tread the clay; take the brick mold—the ironic imperative commands Nineveh to prepare futilely for a siege it cannot win. Each defensive preparation mockingly itemized serves to underline their uselessness; no amount of water, fortification, or brick-making will avail. The sarcasm emphasizes the inevitability of defeat.

Nahum 3:15

There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you off; it will devour you like the locust; multiply yourselves like the locust; multiply like the grasshopper—the locusts and grasshoppers, symbols of devouring plague and insatiable consumption, turn the tables on Nineveh's own predatory nature. Nineveh, which consumed others like a lion, will be consumed like insects. The judgment employs poetic reversal: the consumer becomes the consumed.

Nahum 3:16

You increased your merchants more than the stars of heaven; the locust sheds its skin and flies away—the reference to merchants connects Nineveh's commercial success (another form of imperial power) to the locust plague. The locust's molting and flight symbolize the sudden departure of all that Nineveh's wealth had accumulated; commercial success offers no sanctuary. The imagery suggests the temporary and illusory nature of worldly prosperity.

Nahum 3:17

Your guards are like the locusts, and your officials like clouds of grasshoppers; they settle on the walls in a day of cold, but when the sun rises, they flee, and no one knows where they have gone—the military leadership, like locusts, disappears when conditions shift unfavorably. The image of officials and commanders vanishing emphasizes the disintegration of authority and command structure. The instability of locusts stands in inverse proportion to Assyria's boasted permanence.

Nahum 3:18

Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber; your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them—the final image depicts collapse of leadership and dispersion of the population. The sleeping shepherds suggest abandonment of responsibility in Nineveh's hour of desperate need; the scattered people with no gatherer emphasize utter disorganization. The verse concludes with a vision of total social dissolution.

Nahum 3:19

There is no easing of your hurt; your wound is grievous. All who hear the news of you clap their hands over you. For upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?—the final verse emphasizes the permanence and totality of Nineveh's judgment and the universal recognition of its justice. The world's applause at Assyria's downfall reflects the vast suffering it inflicted; Nineveh's 'unceasing evil' justifies celebration of its end. The prophecy closes with vindication of divine justice.