FocusViolence, deceit, and unavoidable collapse
Nahum 3:13
KJVBehold, 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.
Read it in context
Judgment on Nineveh
Start reading at Nahum 3:1 (Nahum 3:1 to Nahum 3:19).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
The closing accusations and comparisons expose Nineveh's guilt and complete the announcement of its downfall.
- 3:1 Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not;
- 3:2 The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
- 3:3 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:
- 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.
- 3:5 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.
- 3:6 And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazingstock.
- 3:7 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?
- 3:8 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.
- 3:10 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.
- 3:11 Thou also shalt be drunken: thou shalt be hid, thou also shalt seek strength because of the enemy.
- 3:12 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.
- 3:13 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.
- 3:14 Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln.
- 3:15 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.
- 3:16 Thou hast multiplied thy merchants above the stars of heaven: the cankerworm spoileth, and fleeth away.
- 3:17 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.
- 3:18 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.
- 3:19 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?
Who
- Who wrote the book? Nahum the Elkoshite is the named prophet; his further biography is uncertain. Biblical references: Nahum 1:1. stated in the text
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Nahum 2:1–3:19): Nineveh is addressed as the city facing siege and downfall; its rulers, merchants, defenders, and people are portrayed in the warning. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Judah receives reassurance in an oracle against Nineveh. Nineveh is the city addressed in judgment; Judah is explicitly addressed with a call to keep its feasts. Biblical references: Nahum 1:1; Nahum 1:15; Nahum 3:1. stated in the text
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? Judgment on Nineveh. Read Nahum 3:1 through Nahum 3:19 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? The closing accusations and comparisons expose Nineveh's guilt and complete the announcement of its downfall. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The book does not state a royal year. Its comparison with the fall of No and announcement of Nineveh's fall provide historical reference points whose modern dates require external reconstruction. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? Nineveh is the object of the oracle, with other places used in comparison and poetic description. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in Judgment on Nineveh (Nahum 3:1 to Nahum 3:19). Start reading at Nahum 3:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? The book's judgment on violent oppression can be read beside the New Testament's teaching that Christ judges righteously. This is a thematic connection, not an explicit naming of Jesus in Nahum. See Nahum 3:8, Acts 17:31, Revelation 19:11. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Reject security built on violence and exploitation. Read judgment oracles as announcements about their stated objects, not permission for personal vengeance. interpretation
Cited: Nahum 3:1, Nahum 3:19, Nahum 3:8, Acts 17:31, Revelation 19:11
Who wrote it, and how we know
Nahum
Named in Scripture
What Scripture saysThe book opens as the book of the vision of Nahum.
Nahum 1:1
Early traditionTradition names Nahum.
Related passages
- thy people Isa 19:16 Jer 50:37 Jer 51:30
- the gates Nah 2:6 Ps 107:16 Isa 45:1-2
- thy bars Ps 147:13 Jer 51:30
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Nahum 3
Nahum presents an oracle concerning Nineveh. The announced judgment is directed toward that oppressive power; descriptions of battle are prophetic and poetic language rather than instructions for the reader to imitate violence. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Connection to the wholeThe closing accusations and comparisons expose Nineveh's guilt and complete the announcement of its downfall.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Nahum
Nahum presents an oracle concerning Nineveh. The announced judgment is directed toward that oppressive power; descriptions of battle are prophetic and poetic language rather than instructions for the reader to imitate violence.
The LORD's character and the city's end
Nahum 1:1–15FocusRefuge and judgment
Connection to the wholeThe opening describes the LORD's power and goodness while announcing the end of the hostile oppressor.
interpretation Nineveh's fall portrayed
Nahum 2:1–13FocusAttack and desolation
Connection to the wholeThe vivid battle scene depicts the overthrow of the power confronted in the oracle.
interpretation FocusViolence, deceit, and unavoidable collapse
Connection to the wholeThe closing accusations and comparisons expose Nineveh's guilt and complete the announcement of its downfall.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.