←Nahum 3→BSB

In This Chapter 12 places 8 terms 1 resource

Places

    Key Terms

    Incantations 5 Under Siege (State) 3 Detested Thing 2 Be Worthy of Honor 2 Woe (Future Suffering) Lot (Object) Bring Honor and Glory on Oneself Treat With Honor and Respect

    Resources

    Nahum Book Overview

    Judgment on Nineveh

    1Woe to the city of blood,full of lies,full of plunder,never without prey.
    ⓘ These short, staccato phrases dramatize the effects of...
    • These short, staccato phrases dramatize the effects of seeing and hearing the battle.
    • Assyrian chariots and charioteers were feared far and wide.
    2The crack of the whip,the rumble of the wheel,galloping horseand bounding chariot!3Charging horseman,flashing sword,shining spear;heaps of slain,mounds of corpses,dead bodies without end—they stumble over their dead—4because of the many harlotries of the harlot,the seductive mistress of sorcery,who betrays nations by her prostitutionand clans by her witchcraft.
    5“Behold, I am against you,”declares the LORD of Hosts.“I will lift your skirts over your face.I will show your nakedness to the nationsand your shame to the kingdoms.6I will pelt you with filthand treat you with contempt;I will make a spectacle of you.7Then all who see youwill recoil from you and say,‘Nineveh is devastated;who will grieve for her?’Where can I findcomforters for you?”
    8Are you better than Thebes,†stationed by the Nile with water around her,whose rampart was the sea,whose wall was the water?
    ⓘ Thebes fell to the Assyrians under King Ashurbanipal...
    • Thebes fell to the Assyrians under King Ashurbanipal in 663 BC. Before Ashurbanipal’s victory, Thebes had seemed to have unconquerable defenses, as well as the help of all Egypt and its allies: Ethiopia, Put (perhaps the fabled land of Punt, located near what is now coastal Somalia), and Libya. None of these, however, had effectively protected Thebes.
    • babies were dashed to death: Ancient conquerors had the heinous practice of exterminating the infants of their enemies in this way (2 Kgs 8:12; Ps 137:9; Isa 13:16, 18).
    • Soldiers threw dice for the spoils of war, while the leaders of the conquered people were bound in chains (see 2 Kgs 25:7; Jer 40:1, 4; Joel 3:3; Obad 1:11).
    9Cush† and Egypt were her boundless strength;Put and Libya were her allies.10Yet she became an exile;she went into captivity.Her infants were dashed to piecesat the head of every street.They cast lots for her dignitaries,and all her nobles were bound in chains.11You too will become drunk;you will go into hidingand seek refuge from the enemy.
    12All your fortresses are fig treeswith the first ripe figs;when shaken, they fallinto the mouth of the eater!
    13Look at your troops—they are like your women!The gates of your landare wide open to your enemies;fire consumes their bars.
    14Draw your water for the siege;strengthen your fortresses.Work the clay and tread the mortar;repair the brick kiln!15There the fire will devour you;the sword will cut you downand consume you like a young locust.Make yourself many like the young locust;make yourself many like the swarming locust!16You have multiplied your merchantsmore than the stars of the sky.The young locust strips the landand flies away.17Your guards† are like the swarming locust,and your scribes† like clouds of locuststhat settle on the walls on a cold day.When the sun rises, they fly away,and no one knows where.
    18O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber;your officers sleep.Your people are scattered on the mountainswith no one to gather them.19There is no healing for your injury;your wound is severe.All who hear the news of youapplaud your downfall,for who has not experiencedyour constant cruelty?