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Nahum Chapter
Three
New King James Version (NKJV)
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, Nahum 3:1 for which
it should be swiftly and cruelly destroyed, Nahum 3:2 as also
its whoredoms and witchcrafts, or idolatry, by which nations and families were
seduced, Nahum 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, Nahum 3:5 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, Nahum 3:8 nor the
number of her inhabitants, which were weak as women; nor even her merchants,
captains, nobles, and king himself, Nahum 3:13 nor the
people she was in alliance with, who would now mock at her, her case being
irrecoverable and incurable, Nahum 3:19.
Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody
city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never
departs.
YLT
1Wo [to] the city of blood,
She is all with lies -- burglary -- full, Prey doth not depart.
Woe to the bloody city,.... Nineveh, in which
many murders were daily committed; innocent blood shed; the lives of men taken
away, under the colour of justice, by false witnesses, and other unlawful
methods; and which was continually making war with neighbouring nations, and shedding
their blood, which it stuck not at, to enlarge its wealth and dominions; and
therefore "woe" is denounced against it; and it is threatened with
the righteous judgments of God, with all sorts of calamity and distress: or,
"O bloody city", as the Septuagint; for the word used is vocative,
and expressive of calling, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi observe:
it is all full of lies and robbery; the palace
and court; the houses of noblemen and common persons were full of flattery and
deceit; men of high degree were a lie, and men of low degree vanity; no man
could trust another, or believe what he said; there were no truth, honesty, and
faithfulness, in conversation or commerce; their warehouses were full of goods,
got by rapine and violence; and their streets full of robbers and robberies:
the prey departeth not; they go on in making a
prey of their neighbours, in pillaging and plundering their substance; they
repent not of such evil practices, nor desist from them; or because of the
above sins they shall fall a prey to the enemy, who will not cease plundering
them till he has utterly stripped them of all they have; and who is represented
in the next verse Nahum 3:2 as just
at hand.
Nahum 3:2 2 The
noise of a whip And the noise of rattling wheels, Of galloping horses, Of
clattering chariots!
YLT
2The sound of a whip, And
the sound of the rattling of a wheel, And of a prancing horse, and of a
bounding chariot, Of a horseman mounting.
The noise of a whip,.... Of a horseman or
chariot driver whipping his horses to make speed to Nineveh, and enter into it,
so near as to be heard by the inhabitants of it; and is thus represented in
order to strike terror into them:
and the noise of the rattling of the wheels; that is, of
the chariots upon the stones, whose drivers drove Jehu like, making the utmost
haste they could to get in first, and seize the prey:
and of the pransing horses; or bounding steeds, upon
a full gallop; either with horsemen on them riding full speed to partake of the
booty; or in chariots, in which they caper and prance, and shake the ground as
they go; hence it follows:
and of the jumping chariots; which, through the
swiftness of the motion, seem to leap and dance as they run along.
Nahum 3:3 3 Horsemen
charge with bright sword and glittering spear. There is a multitude of
slain, A great number of bodies, Countless corpses— They stumble over the
corpses—
YLT
3And the flame of a sword,
and the lightning of a spear, And the abundance of the wounded, And the weight
of carcases, Yea, there is no end to the bodies, They stumble over their
bodies.
The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering
spear,.... Or, "the flame of the sword and the glittering
spear"F23להב חרב
וברק חנית "flammam
gladii et fulgorem hastae", Piscator; "flammam gladii et fulgur
hastae", Cocceius; "flamma gladii et fulgur lanceae", Burkius. ;
he rides with a drawn sword, which, being brandished to and fro, looks like a
flame of fire; or with a spear made of polished iron, or steel, which, when
vibrated and moved to and fro, glitters like lightning; a large number of which
entering the city must be terrible to the inhabitants of it:
and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of
carcasses; of dead men lying in the streets, pierced and slain with the
bright sword and glittering spear of the Medes and Chaldeans:
and there is none end of their corpses; the number of
them could not be told; they lay so thick in all parts of the city, that there
was no telling them:
they stumble upon their corpses; the Ninevites in
fleeing, and endeavouring to make their escape, and the Medes and Chaldeans
pursuing them.
Nahum 3:4 4 Because
of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of
sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her
sorceries.
YLT
4Because of the abundance of
the fornications of an harlot, The goodness of the grace of the lady of
witchcrafts, Who is selling nations by her fornications, And families by her
witchcrafts.
Because of the multitudes of the whoredoms of the wellfavoured
harlot,.... Meaning Nineveh; which, as it was an ancient city, was a
well built one; full of stately and beautiful buildings, the seat of the kings
of Assyria, and the metropolis of the nation, and abounded with wealth and
riches; perhaps here may be an allusion to the name of the city, and to the
signification of it; for Nineveh may have its name from the beauty of it, and
be read, in Hebrew, נאי נוה
or נוי, and may signify a beautiful or pleasant
habitation; so HillerusF24Onomastic. Sacr. p. 304, 431, 898. and
CocceiusF25Comment. in Jonam, c. 1. 2. give the etymology of it;
which agrees with its delightful situation on the banks of the river Tigris,
and the stately edifices in it, as the king's palace, and others; just as Zion
is said to be "beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth", Psalm 48:2 and the
epithet of "well favoured" well agrees with a harlot, whose beauty is
engaging and ensnaring, as Lais, and others; particularly Semiramis, the wife
of Ninus, from whom it is generally thought Nineveh had its name, was first a
harlot, and one of exceeding beauty, who surpassed all others in it; on account
of which she was beloved by the king of Assyria, and after a short time made
his wife, and then he delivered the government of the kingdom to herF26Diodor.
Sicul. l. 2. p. 93. 107. Ed. Rhodoman. ; yea, Sardanapalus the Last, and at
this time the present king of the Assyrians, was very effeminate, used to dress
himself in women's clothes, imitate a woman's voice, and paint his face, and
even his whole body; and, by other tricks and enticements of harlots, made
himself more lascivious, and behaved more lewdly, than any harlotF1Ibid.
p. 109, 110. ; in short, all the Assyrian women must be harlots, since they
were obliged once in their lifetime to lie with a stranger in the temple of
Venus, whom the Assyrians call Mylitta, as HerodotusF2Clio, sive. l.
1. c. 199. and StraboF3Geograph. l. 16. p. 513. relate; to all which
here may be an allusion: and particularly the inhabitants of this city had all
the arts of address and insinuation to deceive others as harlots have; and both
men and women very probably were given to whoredom and adultery in a literal
sense as is generally the case where luxury and intemperance abound; and
especially were grossly guilty of idolatry, which in Scripture is frequently
expressed by whoredom and adultery; worshipping Bel, Nisroch and other deities
and which was highly provoking to God; and therefore for these things, his
judgements came upon them, before and after described:
the mistress of witchcrafts: thoroughly versed in
such wicked and devilish practices, literally understood; see Isaiah 47:9 for the
Assyrians, as well as the Babylonians and Chaldeans, were addicted to such
diabolical arts, as appears from a passage in TheocritusF4Pharmaceutria,
sive Idyll. 2. prope finem. , which Grotius has also quoted; where one is
represented saying that she kept in her box or chest very pernicious poisons,
which she had learned from an Assyrian guest. The allusion seems to be to
philtres, and other tricks used by harlots to besot young men, and bewitch and
captivate them: likewise this city and its inhabitants were well versed in all
the arts of flattery, deceit, and carnal policy; and in all the charms of
wealth, riches, luxury, and sensuality, the pomp of superstition and idolatry,
to draw in kingdoms and nations into subjection to them:
that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through
her witchcrafts; enslaved whole kingdoms, and brought them under her power and
dominion, to be her vassals; and was the instrument, not only of corporeal
servitude, but of their selling themselves to work wickedness, by committing
spiritual fornication or idolatry; into which multitudes were led by her
influence and example, and particularly the kingdoms and families of Israel and
Judah; see 2 Kings 16:10. In
these whoredoms and witchcrafts, as well as in her bloodthirstiness, lies, and
oppression, Nineveh was a type of the whore of Rome; see Revelation 17:1.
Nahum 3:5 5 “Behold,
I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts; “I
will lift your skirts over your face, I will show the nations your nakedness, And
the kingdoms your shame.
YLT
5Lo, I [am] against thee, An
affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And have removed thy skirts before thy face,
And have shewed nations thy nakedness, And kingdoms thy shame,
Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts,.... Because
her doings were against him; See Gill on Nahum 2:13,
and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face; turn up the
skirts of her garments over her head, and thereby discover what should be
concealed, than which nothing is more disagreeable and abominable to modest
persons; it is here threatened she should be used in character as a harlot, or
as women oftentimes are by rude soldiers, when a city is taken by them:
and I will show the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy
shame; all her charms shall be taken away, and she become odious as a
harlot to her former lovers; all her impostures, arts, and tricks, and shameful
actions, will be discovered; and her aims and views at universal monarchy will
be seen and her weakness to effect it made to appear; and, upon the whole, will
become the object of the scorn and derision of kingdoms and nations.
Nahum 3:6 6 I
will cast abominable filth upon you, Make you vile, And make you a spectacle.
YLT
6And I have cast upon thee
abominations, And dishonoured thee, and made thee as a sight.
And I will cast abominable filth upon thee,.... As dirt
and dung, or any or everything that is abominable and filthy; and which is
thrown at harlots publicly disgraced, and as used to be at persons when carted.
The meaning is, that this city and its inhabitants should be stripped of
everything that was great and glorious in them, and should be reduced to the
utmost shame and ignominy:
and make thee vile: mean, abject, contemptible, the offscouring
of all things; rejected and disesteemed of all; had in no manner of repute or
account, but in the utmost abhorrence:
and I will set thee as a gazingstock; to be looked
and laughed at: or, "for an example"F5כרואי
εις παραδειγμα, Sept.;
"in exemplum", Drusius, Tarnovius; "sicut spectacalum",
Burkius. ; to others, that they may shun the evils and abominations Nineveh had
been guilty of, or expect the same disgrace and punishment. Kimchi interprets
it "as dung"F6"Tanquam stercus", Munster,
Montanus, Vatablus, Calvin, Cocceius. ; to be no more reckoned of than that, or
to be made a dunghill of; and so many others interpret it; or, "for a
looking glass"F7"Ut speculum", Junius &
Tremellius, Piscator, Quistorpius. ; that others may look into, and take
warning, and avoid the sins that have brought on such calamities.
Nahum 3:7 7 It
shall come to pass that all who look upon you Will flee from you, and
say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste! Who will bemoan her?’ Where shall I seek
comforters for you?”
YLT
7And it hath come to pass,
Each of thy beholders fleeth from thee, And hath said: `Spoiled is Nineveh, Who
doth bemoan for her?' Whence do I seek comforters for thee?
And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee
shall flee from thee,.... As something loathsome and abominable, not fit to be come
near unto, or touched; and as astonished and amazed at an object so forlorn and
miserable, and lest they should partake of the same punishment:
and say, Nineveh is laid waste; utterly destroyed; its
walls broke down, its houses demolished, its substance plundered, and its
inhabitants killed, or carried captive; who could have thought it, when it was
once so stately, rich, and powerful? but so it is indeed!
who will bemoan her? there are none left in
her to do it; and as for others, her neighbours, whom she has oppressed and
cruelly used, these will laugh and rejoice, instead of lamenting her case:
whence shall I seek comforters for thee? none from
among her inhabitants, being destroyed, or carried into a foreign land; and
none from among the nations round about, who will rather deride and insult than
pity and comfort; so wretched and miserable would her case be!
Nahum 3:8 8 Are
you better than No Amon[a] That
was situated by the River,[b] That had
the waters around her, Whose rampart was the sea, Whose wall was
the sea?
YLT
8Art thou better than
No-Ammon, That is dwelling among brooks? Waters she hath round about her, Whose
bulwark [is] the sea, waters her wall.
Art thou better than populous No,.... Or No Amon, a city
in Egypt so called, not because the kings of Egypt were nursed and brought up
there, as Jarchi and Abarbinel; see Proverbs 8:30 but
from Ham the son of Noah, whose land Egypt was; or from Jupiter Ammon,
worshipped there. No Amon signifies the mansion or palace of Ham, or Hamon; the
Egyptians, as Herodotus saysF8Vid. Schultens in Job xiv. 11. , call
Jupiter by the name of Ammon. The Targum interprets it of Alexandria the great,
a city so called long after this, when it was rebuilt by Alexander the great;
so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, understand it: others take Diospolis or
Thebes to be meant, famous in HomerF9Geograph. l. 17. p. 551. for
its hundred gates; though some think this was not the number of the gates of
the city, but of the temples in it; and others are of opinion that these were
so many palaces of princesF11Dictionary, in the word
"Diospolis". . The city was built by Osiris; or, according to others,
by Busiris, and seems more likely to be the place here meant; since here was a
temple dedicated to Jupiter, called by the Egyptians Ammon, as Diodorus SiculusF12Ut
supra. (Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 46.) relates, and was a very large
and populous city. Indeed, according to the above historian, it was in compass
but a seventeen and a half milesF13Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 99. ;
which is to be understood of the city when first built, and before it was
enlarged; for it must have been a great deal larger in later times, if we may
judge of it by its ruins. StraboF14Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 2.
& l. 2. c. 10. sect. 1. , who was an eyewitness of them quickly after its
last destruction by Cornelius Gallus, says, the footsteps of its largeness were
seen fourscore furlongs in length, or ten miles; and even this was but small,
in comparison of what it was before it was destroyed by Cambyses, when it is
said to reach four hundred and twenty furlongs, or fifty two miles and a halfF15See
the Universal History, vol. 1. p. 396. . It was the metropolis of all Egypt;
and formerly the whole country was called after its name, as HerodotusF16Euterpe,
sive l. 2. c. 15. observes. The accounts given of its inhabitants are
incredible, and particularly of the soldiers it sent out; according to the
epitaph of Rhampses, seven hundred thousand soldiers dwelt in it; which number
Diodorus SiculusF17Ut supra, (Bibliothec. l. 1.) p. 27. gives to all
the people in Egypt; but, though it may seem too large for Thebes, must be too
little for all Egypt; especially if what Agrippa in JosephusF18De
Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. says is right, that Egypt, from Ethiopia and
the borders of India to Alexandria, had no less than 7,500,000 inhabitants: however,
if Pomponius MelaF19De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 9. may be credited, when
it was necessary, the hundred palaces in Thebes could each of them send out ten
thousand armed men, or, as some say, twenty thousand; and if what Diodorus
SiculusF20Ut supra, (Bibliothec. l. 1.) p. 43. Vid. Homer, ut supra.
(Iliad. 9. ver. 381.) affirms is true, that twenty thousand chariots used to go
out from thence to war, this shows it to have been a very populous city indeed,
and might well be called "populous" No; but now it is utterly
destroyed, first by the Assyrians and Babylonians, then by the Persians, and
last of all by the Romans; the first destruction must be here referred to, if
this city is designed. StraboF21Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 16. p. 561,
Ed. Casaubon.) says in his time it was only inhabited in villages; and JuvenalF23"Vetus
Theba centum jacet obruta portis", Satyr. 15. l. 6. speaks of it as wholly
lying in ruins; and PausaniasF24Arcadica, sive l. 8. p. 509. Ed.
Hanau. , making mention of it with other cities which abounded with riches,
says they were reduced to the fortune of a middling private man, yea, were
brought to nothing. It is now, or what is built on the spot, or near it, called
Luxxor, or LukorcenF25Norden's Travels in Egypt and Nubia, vol. 2.
p. 61, 62. . SomeF26So Hillerus, Onomast. Sacr. p. 571, 572. &
Burkius in loc. think the city Memphis is meant, so Vitringa on Isaiah 19:5. See
Gill on Ezekiel 30:14, Ezekiel 30:15, this
was for many ages the metropolis of all Egypt. StraboF1Geograph. l.
17. p. 555. calls it a large and "populous" city, and full of men,
and second to Alexandria in his time. The compass of it, when first built, was
eighteen and three quarter milesF2Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 1.
p. 46. ; but now there is no more remaining of it than if there had never been
such a city; nay, it is not easy to say where it once stood: now Nineveh is
asked, or its inhabitants, if it could be thought that their city was in a
better and safer condition than this city; it might indeed, according to the
account of it by historians, and as in the prophecy of Jonah, be larger, and
its inhabitants more numerous; but not better fortified, which seems to be the
thing chiefly respected, as follows:
that was situate among the rivers; the canals of the river
Nile:
that had the waters
round about it: a moat on every side, either naturally or artificially:
whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was
from the sea? which agrees with Alexandria, according to the description of it
by StraboF3Geograph. l. 17. p. 545. , SolinusF4Polyhistor.
c. 45. , and JosephusF5De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. , which
had two seas on each side of it; the Egyptian sea on the north, and the lake
Mareotis on the south, as well as had the canals of the Nile running into it
from various parts; and is represented as very difficult of access, through the
sea, rivers, and marshy places about it; and, besides, might have a wall
towards the sea, as by this account it should seem, as well as the sea itself
was a wall and rampart to it: and this description may also agree with
Diospolis or Thebes, which, though more inland, yet, as BochartF6Phaleg.
l. 1. c. 1. col. 6, 7. observes, it had, as all Egypt had, the two seas, the
Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and the canals of the Nile, which might be
said to be as a rampart to it. So IsocratesF7Busiris, p. 437. says
of all Egypt, that it is fortified with an immortal wall, the Nile, which not
only affords a defence, but sufficient food, and is insuperable and inexpugnable;
nor is it unusual, as to call rivers and lakes seas, so particularly the Nile,
and its canals; see Isaiah 11:15, and
in the Alcoran the Nile is often called a seaF8Vid. Schultens in Job
xiv. 11. . There is another Diospolis in Egypt, near Mendes, which, as StraboF9Geograph.
l. 17. p. 551. says, had lakes about it; but this, being a more obscure place,
is not likely to be intended here; though Father CalmetF11Dictionary,
in the word "Diospolis". is of opinion that it is here meant; it
being situated in the Delta, on one of the arms of the Nile, between Busiris to
the south, and Mendes to the north. The description seems to agree better with
Memphis, whose builder Uchoreus, as Diodorus SiculusF12Ut supra.
(Diodor. Sicul. Bibliothec. l. 1. p. 46.) says, chose a very convenient place
for it, where the Nile divided itself into many parts, and made the Delta, so
called from its figure; and which he made wonderfully strong, after this
manner: whereas the Nile flowed round the city, being built within the ancient
bed of it, and at its increase would overflow it; he cast up a very great mound
or rampart to the south, which was a defence against the swell of the river, and
was of the use of a fortress against enemies by land; and on the other parts
all about he dug a large and deep lake, which received a very great deal of the
river, and filled every place about the city but where the mound (or rampart)
was built, and so made it amazingly strong; whence the kings after him left
Thebes, and had their palace and court here; and so Herodotus, who makes Menes
to be the builder of it, saysF13Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 99. , that
without the city he caused lakes to be dug from the river to the north, and to
the west, for to the east the Nile itself bounded it; and JosephusF14Antiqu.
l. 8. c. 6. sect. 2. & l. 2. c. 10. sect. 1. , who also makes Minaeus, or
Menes, the first Pharaoh, to be the builder of it, speaks of that and the sea
together, as if not far off each other: now, if a city so populous, and so well
fortified by art and nature, as each of these were, was taken, and its
inhabitants carried captive, Nineveh could not depend on her numbers or
situation for safety, which were not more or better than this.
Nahum 3:9 9 Ethiopia
and Egypt were her strength, And it was boundless; Put and Lubim
were your[c] helpers.
YLT
9Cush her might, and Egypt,
and there is no end. Put and Lubim have been for thy help.
Ethiopia and Egypt were her strength,.... That is,
the strength, support, protection, and defence of No, whether Alexandria, or
Thebes, or Memphis: Egypt was, for these cities were in it, and subject to it;
or, if this was a free city, as some think, yet in alliance with Egypt, and
under its protection; and in like connection it was with Ethiopia, that is,
Arabia, a country that lay near to it; and yet, though it was strengthened by
such powerful neighbours and allies, it was not secure from the devastation of
the enemy:
and it was infinite; or there was "no
end"F15ואין קצה
"non est finis", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Cocceius. ; of its
strength, or of the number of its allies, or the forces they were able to bring
in its defence. The Ethiopians were very numerous, as may be learnt from 2 Chronicles 14:9
and so were the Egyptians, to whom some interpreters strictly connect this
sentence. In the times of Amasis, as MelaF16De Orbis Situ. l. 1. c.
9. relates, there were twenty thousand cities inhabited in it; and JosephusF17De
Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 4. says there were in it seven hundred and fifty
myriads of men; as Sethon, king of Egypt, and Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, were
about this time the allies of the Jews, in whom they trusted, no doubt they
were confederate together, and so both the strength of this city; see Isaiah 36:6,
Put and Lubim, were thy helpers; Put, or the Putim, were
the people of the Moors, that dwelt in Mauritania; and Lubim were the Lybians
that bordered on Egypt, and whose country is sometimes reckoned a part of it.
The JewsF18T. Hieros. Celaim, c. 8. fol. 31. 3. say Lybia is Egypt;
see Acts 2:10 these
several people were the confederates of No; and helped them, not only by their
commerce with them, but in time of war assisted them against their enemies; and
yet, though so strengthened by alliances, were not safe and secure; and
therefore Nineveh could not depend upon such helps and helpers.
Nahum 3:10 10 Yet
she was carried away, She went into captivity; Her young children also
were dashed to pieces At the head of every street; They cast lots for her
honorable men, And all her great men were bound in chains.
YLT
10Even she doth become an
exile, She hath gone into captivity, Even her sucklings are dashed to pieces At
the top of all out-places, And for her honoured ones they cast a lot, And all
her great ones have been bound in fetters.
Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity,.... Not by
Nebuchadnezzar; though this city was afterwards taken, and its inhabitants
carried captive, by that monarch, as was foretold, Jeremiah 46:25 but
the prophet here does not predict an event to be accomplished, and instance in
that, and argue from it, which could have no effect on Nineveh and its
inhabitants, or be an example or terror to them; but refers to what had been
done, a recent fact, and which they were well acquainted with. Aben Ezra says,
this city No was a city of the land of Egypt, which the king of the Chaldeans
took as he went to Nineveh; but when, and by whom it was taken, is nowhere
said. According to Bishop UsherF19Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3292. and
Dean PrideauxF20Connexion, par. 1. B. 1. p. 22, 23. , the
destruction of the city of Thebes was by Sennacherib, in his expedition against
Egypt, which he harassed for three years together, from one end to the other;
at which time Sevechus, the son of Sabacon, or So, the Ethiopian, was king of
Egypt; and Egypt and Ethiopia were as one country, and helped each other; but
could not secure this city from falling into the hands of Sennacherib, about
three years before he besieged Jerusalem; and so, according to Mr. WhistonF21Chronological
Tables, cent. 8. , it was destroyed three years before the army of Sennacherib
was destroyed at Jerusalem:
her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all
the streets: against the walls of the houses, or upon the stones and
pavements of the streets; which cruelties were often used by conquerors upon
innocent babes at the sacking of cities, Psalm 137:9,
and they cast lots for her honourable men; the soldiers
did, who should have them, and sell them for slaves; which was done without any
regard to their birth and breeding, Joel 3:3,
and all her great men were bound in chains; as nobles may
be meant by "honourable men", by "great men" may be
designed the gentry, merchants, and others; these were taken, and bound in iron
chains, handcuffed, and pinioned, and so led captive into a foreign land; and
Nineveh might expect the same treatment.
Nahum 3:11 11 You
also will be drunk; You will be hidden; You also will seek refuge from the
enemy.
YLT
11Even thou art drunken, thou
art hidden, Even thou dost seek a strong place, because of an enemy.
Thou also shalt be drunken,.... This is said to
Nineveh, whose turn would be next to drink of the cup of the wrath of God, and
be inebriated with it, so that they should not know where they were, or what
they did; and be as unable to guide and help themselves as a drunken man. So
the Targum,
"thou
also shalt be like to a drunken man;'
this
was literally true of Nineveh when taken; see Nahum 1:10,
thou shalt be hid; or, "thou shall be", as if thou
wast not; as Nineveh is at this day, "hid" from the sight of men, not
to be seen any more. So the Targum,
"thou
shall be swallowed up or destroyed.'
The
Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it "despised";
or the meaning is, she should "hide herself"F23נעלמה "latitans", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator; "abscondes te", Vatablus; "eris abscondita",
Burkius. ; or be lurking about through shame, as drunken, or through fear of
her enemies:
thou also shall seek strength because of the enemy; seek to
others to help them against the enemy, not being able with their own strength
to face them: or, seek strength "of the enemy"F24מאויב εξ εχθρων,
Sept.; "ab hoste", Montanus, Calvin, Drusius, Grotius, Cocceius. ;
beg their lives of him, and their bread; pray for quarter, and desire to be
taken under his protection; to so low and mean a state and condition should
Nineveh and its inhabitants be reduced, who had given laws to all about them,
and had been a terror to them.
Nahum 3:12 12 All
your strongholds are fig trees with ripened figs: If they are shaken, They
fall into the mouth of the eater.
YLT
12All thy fortresses [are]
fig-trees with first-fruits, If they are shaken, They have fallen into the
mouth of the eater.
All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the first
ripe figs,.... Upon them, or like them: "and the first ripe
figs"; which are easily shook and gathered; and so easily should the
fortresses and towers of Nineveh, in which they trusted for safety, be taken by
the enemy, not only one, but all of them:
if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the
eater; as such ripe fruit is very desirable, and the mouth of a man is
open and ready for them; so if he gives the tree but the least shake, they will
fall into his mouth, or about him in great plenty: in like manner, as the
fortresses of Nineveh, being of importance, were desirable by the Chaldeans and
Medes, and for which they were gaping; so upon the least assault they would
fall into their hands; see Revelation 6:13.
Nahum 3:13 13 Surely,
your people in your midst are women! The gates of your land are wide
open for your enemies; Fire shall devour the bars of your gates.
YLT
13Lo, thy people [are] women
in thy midst, To thine enemies thoroughly opened Have been the gates of thy
land, Consumed hath fire thy bars.
Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women,.... Or like
women, weak and feeble, fearful and timorous; frightened at the first approach
of the enemy; run away, and run up and down in the utmost consternation and
distress, having neither skill nor courage to oppose them; some regard may be
had to the effeminacy of their king; see Nahum 2:7. The
sense is, they should be at once dispirited, and lose all strength of mind and
body, and have neither heads nor hearts to form schemes, and execute them in
their own defence; and thus should they be, even in the midst of the city, upon
their own ground, where, any where, it might be thought they would exert themselves,
and play the man, since their all lay at stake: this was another thing they
trusted in, the multitude of their people, even of their soldiers; but these
would be of no avail, since they would lose all their military skill and
bravery:
the gates of thy land shall be set wide open to thine enemies: instead of
guarding the passes and avenues, they would abandon them to the enemy; and,
instead of securing the gates and passages, they would run away from them; and
the enemy would find as easy access as if they were thrown open on purpose for
them; perhaps this may respect the gates of the rivers being opened by the
inundation, which threw down the wall, and made a way into the city; see Nahum 2:6,
the fire shall devour thy bars; with which their gates
had been shut, but now opened, and in the enemies' hands; who would set fire to
them, that the way to go in and out might be open and free.
Nahum 3:14 14 Draw
your water for the siege! Fortify your strongholds! Go into the clay and tread
the mortar! Make strong the brick kiln!
YLT
14Waters of a siege draw for
thyself, Strengthen thy fortresses, Enter into mire, and tread on clay, Make
strong a brick-kiln.
Draw thee waters for the siege,.... Before the siege is
begun, fetch water from the river, wells, or fountains without the city, and
fill cisterns, and such like receptacles of water, with them; that there may be
sufficiency of it to hold out, which is often wanting in long sieges; the want
of which gives great distress to the besieged: this is put for all necessary
provisions, which should be made when a city is in danger of being blocked up:
this, and what follows, are said ironically; signifying, let them do what they
would or could for their support and security, it would be all in vain:
fortify thy strong holds; repair the old
fortifications, and add new ones to them; fill them with soldiers, arms, and
ammunition:
go into clay, and tread the mortar; make strong the brick kiln; repair the
brick kilns, keep them in good order; employ men in digging clay, and treading
it, and making it into bricks, and burning them in the kiln, that there be no
want of bricks to repair the fortifications, or such breaches as might be made
by the enemy. Bricks were much used instead of stone in those countries; but
when they had done their utmost, they would not be able to secure themselves,
and keep out the enemy.
Nahum 3:15 15 There
the fire will devour you, The sword will cut you off; It will eat you up like a
locust. Make yourself many—like the locust! Make yourself many— like the swarming
locusts!
YLT
15There consume thee doth a
fire, Cut thee off doth a sword, It doth consume thee as a cankerworm! Make
thyself heavy as the cankerworm, Make thyself heavy as the locust.
There shall the fire devour thee,.... In the strong holds,
made ever so firm and secure; either the fire of divine wrath; or the fire of
the enemy they should put into them; or the enemy himself, as Kimchi; and so
the Targum,
"thither
shall come upon thee people who are as strong as fire:'
the sword shall cut thee off; it shall eat thee up as the
cankerworm: that is, the sword of the Medes and Chaldeans shall utterly
destroy thee, as the cankerworm is destroyed by rain or fire; or rather, as
that creature destroys all herbs, plants, and trees it falls upon, and makes
clear riddance of them, so should it be with Nineveh:
make thyself many as the cankerworm; make thyself many as the
locust; which go in swarms, innumerable, and make the air
"heavy" in which they fly, and the earth on which they fall, as the
wordF25התכבד "aggravate",
Montanus; "onerate", Tigurine version; "gravem effice te",
Burkius. signifies. The locust has one of its names, "arbah", in
Hebrew, from the large numbers of them; so a multitude of men, and large armies,
are often signified in Scripture to be like grasshoppers or locusts, for their
numbers; see Judges 6:5. So
Sithalces king of Thrace is representedF26Aristophan. in Acharnens.
Act. 1. Scen. 1. as swearing, while he was sacrificing, that he would assist
the Athenians, having an army that would come like locusts, that is, in such
numbers; for so the Greek scholiast on the place says the word used signifies a
sort of locusts: the sense is, gather together as many soldiers, and as large
an army, as can be obtained to meet the enemy, or cause him to break up the
siege: and so we findF1Diodor. Sicul. l. 2. p. 113. the king of
Assyria did; for, perceiving his kingdom in great danger, he sent into all his
provinces to raise soldiers, and prepare everything for the siege; but all to
no purpose, which is here ironically suggested. The word in the Misnic
language, as Kimchi observes, has the signification of sweeping; and some
render it, "sweep as the locust"F2So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel
Moed, fol. 39. 1. ; which sweeps away and consumes the fruits of the earth; so
sweep with the besom of destruction, as Jarchi, either their enemies,
sarcastically spoken, or be thou swept by them.
Nahum 3:16 16 You
have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of heaven. The locust
plunders and flies away.
YLT
16Multiply thy merchants
above the stars of the heavens, The cankerworm hath stripped off, and doth flee
away.
Thou hast multiplied thy
merchants above the stars of heaven,.... A hyperbolical
expression, setting forth the great number of merchants that were in Nineveh,
and in the land of Assyria; who either were the natives of the place, or came
thither for the sake of merchandise, which serve to enrich a nation, and therefore
are encouraged to settle; and from whom, in a time of war, much benefit might
be expected; being able to furnish with money, which is the sinews of war, as
well as to give intelligence of the designs of foreign princes, they trading
abroad:
the cankerworm spoileth, and flieth away; or "puts
off"F3פשט "exspoliavit", De
Dieu; "proprie est, exuere, vestem detrahere et exspoliare", De Dieu.
its clothes, disrobes and changes its form; or breaks out with force, as the
Septuagint, out of its former worm state, and appears a beautiful butterfly,
and then flies away. The word is rendered a caterpillar, Psalm 105:34 and
what we translate "spoileth" is used of stripping, or putting off of
clothes, 1 Samuel 19:24 and
the sense may be, that though their merchants were multiplied above the stars
of heaven, in which there may be an allusion to the increase of caterpillars, Nahum 3:15 yet, as
the caterpillar drops its clothes, and flies away, so their merchants, through
fear of the enemy, would depart in haste, or be suddenly stripped of their
riches, which make themselves wings, and fly away, Proverbs 23:5.
These merchants, at their beginning, might be low and mean, but, increasing,
adorning, and enriching themselves in a time of peace, fled away in a time of
war: or, "spreads itself"F4"Diffundit se",
Munster, so the Targum; "effunditur", Cocceius. , and "flies
away"; so these creatures spread themselves on the earth, and devour all
they can, and then spread their wings, and are gone; suggesting that in like
manner the merchants of Nineveh would serve them; get all they could by
merchandise among them, and then betake themselves elsewhere and especially in
a time of war, which is prejudicial to merchandise; and hence nothing was to be
expected from them, or any dependence had upon them.
Nahum 3:17 17 Your
commanders are like swarming locusts, And your generals like
great grasshoppers, Which camp in the hedges on a cold day; When the sun rises
they flee away, And the place where they are is not known.
YLT
17Thy crowned ones [are] as a
locust, And thy princes as great grasshoppers, That encamp in hedges in a day
of cold, The sun hath risen, and it doth flee away, And not known is its place
where they are.
Thy crowned men are
as the locusts,.... Tributary kings, and hired officers, as some think, who
might be distinguished by what they wore on their heads; or their own princes
and nobles, who wore coronets or diadems; unless their religious persons are
meant, their Nazarites and devotees, their priests; these were like locusts for
their number, fear, and flight in time of danger, and for their spoil of the
poor; and some locusts have been seen with little crowns on their heads, as
those in Revelation 9:7
"which had on their heads as it were crowns like gold". In the year
1542 came locusts out of Turkish Satmatia into Austria, Silesia, Lusatia, and
Misnia, which had on their heads little crownsF5Vid. Frantzii Hist.
Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 4. p. 799. . In the year 1572 a vehement wind brought
large troops of locusts out of Turkey into Poland, which did great mischief,
and were of a golden colourF6Ibid. p. 798. ; and AelianusF7Hist.
Animal. l. 10. c. 13. speaks of locusts in Arabia, marked with golden coloured
figures; and mention is made in the Targum on Jeremiah 51:27, of
the shining locust, shining like gold:
and thy captains as the great grasshoppers; or
"locusts of locusts"F8כגוב גובי "ut locustae locustarum", Vatablus,
Pagninus, Montanus; "sicut locusta locustarum", Burkius. ; those of
the largest size. The Vulgate Latin renders the word for captains "thy
little ones", junior princes, or officers of less dignity and authority;
these were, as the Targum paraphrases it, as the worms of locusts; but rather
as the locusts themselves, many and harmful:
which camp in the hedges in the cold day; in the cold
part of the day, the night; when they get into the hedges of fields, gardens,
and vineyards, in great numbers, like an army, and therefore said to encamp
like one:
but when the sun ariseth they
flee away, and their place is not known where they are; whither they
are fled, as the Targum; so these captains, or half pay officers, swarmed in
great numbers about the city, and in the provinces, while it was a time of
peace, and they were indulged in sloth, and enjoyed much ease and prosperity;
but when war broke out, and the heat of it began to be felt, these disappeared,
and went into their own countries, from whence they came, with the auxiliaries
and hired troops; nor could they be found where they were, or be called upon to
do their duty: this is true of locusts in a literal sense, who flee away when
the sun rises; hence the Arabs, as Bochart saysF9Hierozoic. par. 2.
c. 2. col. 458. elegantly express this by the word "ascaara";
signifying, that when the sun comes to the locust it goes away, According to
MacrobiusF11Saturnal l. 1. c. 17. p. 335. & c. 20. p. 362. ,
both Apollo and Hercules are names for the sun; and both these are surnamed
from their power in driving away locusts: Hercules was called Cornopion by the
Oeteans, because he delivered them from the locustsF12Strabo.
Geograph. l. 13. p. 422. : and Apollo was called Parnopius by the Grecians,
because, when the country was hurt by locusts, he drove them out of it, at
PausaniasF13Attica, sive l. 1. p. 44. relates; who observes, that
they were drove out they knew, but in what manner they say not; for his own
part, he says, he knew them thrice destroyed at Mount Sipylus, but not in the
same way; one time a violent wind drove them out; another time a prodigious
heat killed them; and a third time they perished by sudden cold; and so,
according to the text here, the cold sends them to the hedges, and the heat of
the sun obliges them to abandon their station.
Nahum 3:18 18 Your
shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; Your nobles rest in the dust. Your
people are scattered on the mountains, And no one gathers them.
YLT
18Slumbered have thy friends,
king of Asshur, Rest do thine honourable ones, Scattered have been thy people
on the mountains, And there is none gathering.
Thy shepherds slumber, O
king of Assyria,.... Who this king of Assyria was is not easy to say; some think
Esarhaddon, who is the last of the kings of Assyria the Scriptures speak of;
according to Diodorus SiculusF14Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 109,115. ,
Sardanapalus was the last of these kings, and in him the Assyrian monarchy
ended; though, according to Alexander PolyhistorF15Apud Syncell. p.
210. , Saracus, perhaps the Chyniladanus of Ptolemy, was king when Nineveh was
destroyed: it is very likely that Sardanapalus and Saracus design the same
person, though set at a great distance by historians; since the same things are
said of the one as of the other; particularly that, when they saw their danger,
they burnt themselves and theirs in the royal palace at Nineveh; nor is it
probable that the same city with the empire should be destroyed and subverted
twice by the same people, the Medes and Babylonians, uniting together; and it
is remarkable that the double destruction of this city and empire is related by
different historians; and those that speak of the one say nothing of the other:
but this king, be he who he will, his case was very bad, his "shepherds
slumbered"; his ministers of state, his counsellors, subordinate
magistrates in provinces and cities, and particularly in Nineveh; his generals
and officers in his army were careless and negligent of their duty, and gave
themselves up to sloth and ease; and which also was his own character, as
historians agree in; or they were dead, slumbering in their graves, and so
could be of no service to him:
thy nobles shall dwell in the dust; be brought
very low, into a very mean and abject condition; their honour shall be laid in
the dust, and they be trampled upon by everyone: or, "they shall
sleep"F16ישכבו "dormiunt",
Piscator; so Ben Melech interprets it, "the rest of death." ; that
is, die, and be buried, as the Vulgate Latin renders it: or, "shall dwell
in silence", as othersF17"Habitarunt in silentio",
Buxtorf, Drusius. ; have their habitation in the silent grave, being cut off by
the enemy; so that this prince would have none of his mighty men to trust in,
but see himself stripped of all his vain confidences:
thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them; like sheep
without a shepherd, which being frightened by beasts of prey, run here and
there, and there is none to get them together, and bring them back again; so
the subjects of this king, being terrified at the approach of the Medes and
Babylonians, forsook their cities, and fled to the mountains; where they were
scattered about, having no leader and commander to gather them together, and
put them in regular order to face and oppose the enemy. So the Targum
interprets it
"the
people of thine armies.'
Nahum 3:19 19 Your
injury has no healing, Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you Will
clap their hands over you, For upon whom has not your wickedness passed
continually?
YLT
19There is no weakening of
thy destruction, Grievous [is] thy smiting, All hearing thy fame have clapped
the hand at thee, For over whom did not thy wickedness pass continually?
There is no healing of thy bruise,.... Made by the fatal
blow given to the empire by the taking of Nineveh; the ruin of it was
irreparable and irrecoverable; the city of Nineveh was no more, and the
Assyrian empire sunk, and never rose again: or, "there is no contraction
of thy bruise"F18אין כהה "nulla est contractio", Junius &
Tremellius, Burkius. ; as when a wound is healed, or near it, the skin round
about is wrinkled and contracted. The Targum is,
"there
is none that grieves at thy breach;'
so
the Syriac version; so far from it, that they rejoiced at it, as in a following
clause:
thy wound is grievous; to be borne; the pain of
it intolerable; an old obstinate one, inveterate and incurable: or, is
"weak", or "sickly"F19נחלה
"infirmata", Pagninus, Montanus; "aegritudine plena",
Vatablus; "aegra", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius,
Burkius. ; which had brought a sickness and weakness on the state, out of which
it would never be recovered:
all that hear the bruit of thee; the fame, the report of
the destruction of Nineveh, and of the ruin of the Assyrian empire, and the
king of it:
shall clap the hands over thee; for joy; so far were
they from lending a helping hand in the time of distress, that they clapped
both hands together, to express the gladness of their hearts at hearing such
news:
for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually? to which of
thy neighbours hast thou not been troublesome and injurious? which of them hast
thou not oppressed, and used with violence and cruelty? what province or city
but have felt the weight of thine hand, have been harassed with wars, and
distressed with tributes and exactions? and therefore it is no wonder they
rejoice at thy fall. The destruction of this city, and so of the whole empire,
is placed by Dr. Prideaux in the twenty ninth year of Josiah's reign, and in
the year 612 B.C.; and by what Josephus saysF20Antiqu. l. 10. c. 5.
sect. 1. it appears to have been but a little while before Josiah was slain by
Pharaohnecho, who came out with an army to Euphrates, to make war upon the Medes
and Babylonians; who, he says, had overturned the Assyrian empire; being
jealous, as it seems, of their growing power. Learned men justly regret the
loss of the Assyriaca of Abydenus, and of the history of the Assyrians by
Herodotus, who promisedF21L. 1. sive Clio, c. 184. it; but whether
he finished it or no is not certain; however, it is not extant; and in one
place, speaking of the Medes attacking Nineveh, and taking it, he saysF23Ibid.
c. 106. , but how they took it I shall show in another history; all which, had
they come to light, and been continued, might have been of singular use in
explaining this prophecy.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)