Nahum 2 · ESV Study Bible

God’s Wrath Against Nineveh

The Destruction of Nineveh

NAHUM 2 [†] o The scatterer has come up against you.

p Man the ramparts;

watch the road;

dress for battle; [1]

collect all your strength.

2[†] For q the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob

as the majesty of Israel,

for plunderers have plundered them

and r ruined their branches.

3[^][†] The shield of his mighty men is red;

s his soldiers are clothed in scarlet.

The chariots come with flashing metal

on the day he musters them;

the cypress spears are brandished.

4 t The chariots race madly through the streets;

they rush to and fro through the squares;

they gleam like torches;

they dart like lightning.

5[†] He remembers u his officers;

v they stumble as they go,

they hasten to the wall;

the siege tower [2] is set up.

6[†] w The river gates are opened;

the palace x melts away;

7 its mistress [3] is y stripped; [4] she is carried off,

her slave girls z lamenting,

moaning like doves

and beating their breasts.

8[†] b Nineveh is like a pool

whose waters run away. [5]

“Halt! Halt!” they cry,

but c none turns back.

9[†] Plunder the silver,

plunder the gold!

There is no end of the treasure

or of the wealth of all precious things.

10[†] d Desolate! Desolation and ruin!

e Hearts melt and f knees tremble;

g anguish is in all loins;

h all faces grow pale!

11[†] Where is the lions’ den,

the feeding place of i the young lions,

where the lion and lioness went,

where his cubs were, with j none to disturb?

12 k The lion tore enough for his cubs

and l strangled prey for his lionesses;

he filled his caves with prey

and his dens with torn flesh.

13[†] m Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts, and n I will burn your [6] chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and o the voice of your messengers shall no longer be heard.

NAHUM—NOTE ON 2:5 The attacking army now reaches the wall of Nineveh proper. He remembers. “He” (see v. 3) may be so eager to be involved in the attack that he almost forgets to delegate parts of the operation to his officers. These officers, eager both to join in the attack themselves and to please their superior(s), so rush into the action that they practically stumble over one another. Or, as they move toward Nineveh’s wall, they may stumble over the wreckage in the devastated suburbs. siege tower. This could also be rendered “mantelet” (see esv footnote), a covering that protects the attacking soldiers from arrows, spears, and other objects thrown down on them by the defenders on the wall.

NAHUM—NOTE ON 2:6 river gates. The Khoser River flowed through Nineveh; north of the city were dams, most likely with gates to regulate the flow of this river. The besieging coalition could easily have closed the gates (cutting off this water supply), waited until a considerable quantity of water collected, and then opened the gates. The resulting mass of water crashing against and through Nineveh would have done much damage to portions of the city’s wall, system of gates, and internal structures, thus greatly aiding the besiegers. Another river that probably flowed through Nineveh was the Tebiltu, which could have been used by the coalition in the same manner. The destruction caused by the waters no doubt was a factor contributing to the short length of the siege—only three months. The palace melts away because of the floodwaters.

NAHUM—NOTE ON 2:1–13 Focus on Nineveh: The Lord’s Coming Judgment. In this next major section of the book, the focus falls on Nineveh. Nahum’s prediction reads like an eyewitness account of the city being attacked, overrun by the enemy, and plundered.

NAHUM—NOTE ON 2:1 The Beginning of the Attack on Nineveh. scatterer. This word for the enemy (viewed here as a collective whole) foretells the outcome of the siege. Nineveh will be taken, and any Ninevites not slaughtered will flee before the conquerors (see 3:17–18) or be taken into exile. Ultimately, it is God who “scatters.” has come up. A technical phrase signifying impending hostile military action (e.g., Judg. 1:1; 1 Sam. 7:7; 1 Kings 15:17; 2 Kings 18:13). Man the ramparts. Nineveh is told to get ready for battle. Nahum writes as if he were at Nineveh in 612 B.C., speaking to the Ninevites (with underlying sarcasm).

NAHUM—NOTE ON 2:8 like a pool. See v. 6. Halt … they cry. Nahum places the reader in Nineveh as the city is being entered and overrun by the coalition forces. The reader “sees” the fleeing inhabitants and “hears” some of the Assyrian commanders crying out, “Halt! Stand and fight,” but none turns back to do so. The Assyrians had terrified many, but now they themselves are filled with terror.

NAHUM—NOTE ON 2:11–12 lions. Members of the Assyrian royal house (and perhaps aristocracy), headed by the king. The lion was a symbol for kingship in the ancient Near East (cf. Gen. 49:9); the Assyrian kings exhibited ferocity in their attacking and “devouring” other lands, and called themselves lions. Reliefs on palace walls depicted lions being hunted by the Assyrian rulers. none to disturb. During the time of Assyrian might, no other nation dared to, or could, attack Nineveh. There was none to terrify those in the city, and particularly the household of the king. enough … prey … torn flesh. I.e., the vast amounts of plunder taken by the “ravenous” Assyrians from their brutal, bloody conquest of numerous lands.

NAHUM—NOTE ON 2:9 silver … gold. Nineveh was filled with tremendous wealth, due to the plunder seized during numerous military campaigns and the tribute received over the many years Assyria ruled the Near East.

NAHUM—NOTE ON 2:6–9 The Fall and Plundering of Nineveh. Now Nahum takes the reader into the city as it falls to the invaders.