Nahum 2:1

Nahum 2:1

The Destruction of Nineveh

1 He¹ who scatters has come up before your face.
Man the fort!
Watch the road!
Strengthen your flanks!
Fortify your power mightily.

2 For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob
Like the excellence of Israel,
For the emptiers have emptied them out
And ruined their vine branches.

3 The shields of his mighty men are made red,
The valiant men are in scarlet.
The chariots come with flaming torches
In the day of his preparation,
And¹ the spears are brandished.

4 The chariots rage in the streets,
They jostle one another in the broad roads;
They seem like torches,
They run like lightning.

5 He remembers his nobles;
They stumble in their walk;
They make haste to her walls,
And the defense is prepared.

6 The gates of the rivers are opened,
And the palace is dissolved.

7 ¹It is decreed:
She shall be led away captive,
She shall be brought up;
And her maidservants shall lead her as with the voice of doves,
Beating their breasts.

8 Though Nineveh of old was like a pool of water,
Now they flee away.
¹“Halt! Halt!” they cry;
But no one turns back.

9 ¹Take spoil of silver!
Take spoil of ^agold!
There is no end of treasure,
Or wealth of every desirable prize.

10 She is empty, desolate, and waste!
The heart melts, and the knees shake;
Much pain is in every side,
And all their faces¹ are drained of color.

11 Where is the dwelling of the ^alions,
And the feeding place of the young lions,
Where the lion walked, the lioness and lion’s cub,
And no one made them afraid?

12 The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs,
¹Killed for his lionesses,
^aFilled his caves with prey,
And his dens with¹ flesh.

13 “Behold, ^aI am against you,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will burn¹ your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your ^bmessengers shall be heard no more.”

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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THE ADVANCE OF THE DESTROYING FORCES AGAINST NINEVEH, AFTER IT WAS USED AS GOD'S ROD FOR A TIME TO CHASTISE HIS PEOPLE: THE CAPTURE OF THAT LION'S DWELLING, ACCORDING TO THE SURE WORD OF JEHOVAH. (Nahum 2:1-13)

He that dasheth in pieces—God's "battle axe," wherewith He "breaks in pieces" His enemies. Jeremiah 51:20 applies the same Hebrew term to Nebuchadnezzar (compare Proverbs 25:18; Jeremiah 50:23, "the hammer of the whole earth"). Here the Medo-Babylonian army under Cyaxares and Nabopolassar, that destroyed Nineveh, is prophetically meant.

before thy face—before Nineveh. Openly, so that the work of God may be manifest.

watch the way—by which the foe will attack, so as to be ready to meet him. Ironical advice; equivalent to a prophecy, Thou shalt have need to use all possible means of defense; but use what thou wilt, all will be in vain.

make thy loins strong—The loins are the seat of strength; to gird them up is to prepare all one's strength for conflict (Job 40:7). Also gird on thy sword (II Samuel 20:8; II Kings 4:29).

**Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Nahum 2:1:**

Jeremiah 23:29
Jeremiah 51:20
Nahum 2:1
Nahum 2:3

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Nahum 2:2 >>

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